Harvard’s CCP ties threaten student safety, pose espionage risk, expert warns: VIDEO

A U.S. House of Representatives committee is investigating Harvard University’s financial and academic partnerships with entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), raising alarms about foreign influence in American higher education.

In an exclusive interview with Campus Reform, Strategy Risks CEO and founder Isaac Stone Fish explained how Harvard’s long-standing connections with CCP-affiliated institutions could be undermining U.S. interests and compromising student safety.

Strategy Risks is an intelligence firm that evaluates foreign influence risks and helps institutions reduce exposure.

[RELATED: Harvard under House probe for ‘close’ ties with Chinese Communist Party entities]

Harvard’s financial and academic connections to the CCP present national security risks and can impact both American and Chinese students, Stone Fish warned. 

“What those partnerships mean for [students] is there’s more likelihood that they’re going to be spied on,” he said. “There’s more likelihood that their Chinese friends will get harassed or that their Chinese friends will feel scared about saying certain things because there are people on campus who are reporting back to Chinese authorities.”

He urged universities like Harvard to take seriously the risks posed by foreign partnerships.

[RELATED: Harvard accepted over $1.4B from foreign sources, Campus Reform audit finds]

Earlier this year, Strategy Risks published a report detailing how the CCP leverages partnerships with Harvard to promote censorship, control narratives, and promote technology transfers that serve China’s strategic interests.

The New York Times referenced the report in an article alleging that Harvard may have collaborated with blacklisted Chinese officials. In response, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is encouraging a federal investigation. 

“This administration is far more willing to slaughter sacred cows when it comes to universities,” Stone Fish said. “We’ve seen far more aggressive tactics from this administration than administrations previously.” 

The investigation into Harvard “should make them think twice” about controversial foreign partnerships and should encourage the university to “screen for their China risks,” he said. 

Strategy Risks, he added, “appreciate[s] all the deserved scrutiny on Harvard and its ties to China…more specifically, the Chinese Communist Party.” 

Watch the exclusive video interview on YouTube. 

Follow the author of this article on X and Instagram: @RealEmilySturge