A Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) investigation has found that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members studying at U.S. universities have established overseas CCP party branches on campus, supported by their home institutions in China. These branches exist without official registration at the universities and have been identified at Oklahoma State University (OSU), University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), and University of Colorado–Denver (UCD). They are linked to Chinese universities such as Northwest A&F University (NWAFU) and China Agricultural University (CAU). Over twenty CCP members are confirmed to be involved, with some continuing graduate studies at other U.S. universities, raising concerns about foreign influence and national security.
These overseas branches operate under CCP policy, which requires a branch wherever three or more party members are present. NWAFU’s “3+1” program at UNL, for example, sends Chinese students to study in the U.S. and has been used as a platform to establish a CCP branch that promotes ideological education. Activities include political seminars before departure, online ideological discussions abroad, and fostering a mission of “serving the Party and the country.” Branch members explicitly promote CCP narratives and ideology as part of their mission, integrating political education into academic exchange programs.
Branches also engage in coordinated propaganda work. CAU’s International College, in partnership with UCD and OSU, directs its overseas branches to “tell the China (CCP) story” and requires political training for participating students. Activities have included organized campus events to view CCP political meetings. While U.S. universities state they do not track students’ political affiliations, the investigation exposes a lack of transparency and oversight, raising serious concerns about covert CCP influence in American higher education and the need for closer scrutiny of foreign academic programs.
Source: Epoch Times, September 24, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/9/23/n14601186.htm