College undergraduates allegedly wrote a critical report about China’s threat assessment for the Biden administration.
As per the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the State Department was directed to provide a report to Congress detailing Beijing’s endeavors to engage in U.S.-based censorship and propaganda operations. According to reports, six undergraduates from James Madison University penned the final report that the State Department sent to Congress in January.
In a statement by the State Department, the agency said that the Department agreed with James Madison University to write the independent report through the Diplomacy Lab Project, adding that the agency had no say in choosing the writers or making editorial decisions on the report.
The six individuals in question are all members of the 2024 class at James Madison University, where they will major in either international relations or political science. In coursework regarding China and its trade practices, the politics and economics of the European Union and international trade law are the only areas of expertise mentioned by this one professor.
Out of the six students now majoring in international affairs or political relations, just one focuses on Chinese politics. However, the NDAA said that the State Department had to agree with a qualified research entity that is independent of the Department of State to write a report on censorship and intimidation in the United States.
The publication claims to have examined how China’s censorship and intimidation of U.S. citizens and U.S. businesses in China pose a severe threat to the United States. It advises lawmakers on how to identify and counteract these dangers.
An informed congressional source said that the NDAA, which Congress uses yearly to tackle defense and national security issues, included language instructing the State Department to hire a firm to write the report. The report dealt with the sensitive and emotionally charged subject of Chinese espionage against American citizens.
