By Philip Lenczycki
The Chinese government has created hundreds of so-called “talent recruitment plans,” all of which incentivize participants to “steal foreign technologies needed to advance China’s national, military, and economic goals,” according to the FBI. Individuals identified as Chinese talent plan participants by the DCNF have conducted upwards of millions of dollars of federally-funded research while working in Ivy League schools, like Harvard, land-grant institutions, such as Penn State, and national labs, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The U.S. government’s “porous” vetting process allows many individuals involved in Chinese talent recruitment plans to fall through the cracks and access federal funding, according to L.J. Eads, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst.
“We are playing Russian roulette with national security, funding research and infrastructure that could ultimately bolster the [People’s Liberation Army],” Eads told the DCNF.
Senate Republicans have been particularly concerned with Chinese espionage targeting U.S. national labs. Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the DCNF that China will “lie, cheat and steal to achieve its goal of global domination.”
“Any allegation of taxpayer-funded researchers sharing information with Beijing must be fully investigated,” Blackburn said.
‘Honor System’
The Department of Defense (DOD) identifies both the TTP and Chang Jiang Scholars programs as posing “a threat to national security interests of the United States,” and, consequently, federally-funded researchers failing to disclose participation in the programs may face criminal prosecution.
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