{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/zinke-sends-letter-concern-president-bodnar", "Zinke Sends Letter of Concern to President Bodnar", "2023-12-04", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Ryan K. Zinke", "Z000018", "zinke.house.gov", "zinke", "https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Congressman Ryan Zinke alongside the Select Committee on the CCP Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), today sent a letter to the President of the University of Montana (UMT), Seth Bodnar, with concern about UMT's promotion of a summer 2024 study trip to China that is hosted and funded by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF).\n\nThe lawmakers write, \"CUSEF is not a benign entity interested in the objective education of Montanans\u2014it is an organ of the CCP\u2019s approach to influence operations, including those intended to shape Americans\u2019 views toward the CCP-controlled People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) government. The organization operates within a broader strategy of united front work, whose purpose \u201c\u2026is to control, mobilize, and otherwise make use of individuals outside the party to achieve [CCP] objectives.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers continue, \"CUSEF is guided by officials in the Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a key united front forum designed to advance CCP objectives in and beyond the PRC.5 The founder and longtime chair of CUSEF, Tung Chee-hwa, was the vice chair of the CPPCC and clearly aligns with CCP interests. Since the 1980s, Tung served as a proxy for the CCP in Hong Kong, where as the first chief executive he pushed for the kind of draconian national security legislation we see today.\"\n\nOther institutions, like the University of Texas, have rejected funds from the CUSEF for these reasons.\n\nIn the interest of protecting students and the integrity of UMT\u2019s programs, the lawmakers urge UMT to terminate any ties with CUSEF and commit to a rigorous vetting process for foreign partnerships going forward.\n\n---\n\nDear Mr. Bodnar,\n\nWe write to urge your university and its affiliated schools to reject any study abroad program funding and other support from entities closely aligned with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As underscored by the work of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the CCP, which one of us chairs, we are increasingly concerned by CCP-affiliated entities\u2019 malign influence campaigns and exploitation of academia. Neither Montana students nor your university should be unwitting partners in efforts that advance CCP objectives to the detriment of America\u2019s national security.\n\nThe University of Montana (UMT) Alexander Blewett III School of Law and its affiliated Max Baucus Institute (Baucus Institute) are promoting a summer 2024 study trip to China that is hosted and funded by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF). In the announcement on the UMT law school\u2019s Baucus Institute webpage, prospective recruits are informed that expenses are \u201cVery few! Thanks to the generosity of CUSEF, nearly all expenses are covered, including lodging, travel insurance, breakfasts at hotels, and group meals.\u201d\n\nCUSEF is not a benign entity interested in the objective education of Montanans\u2014it is an organ of the CCP\u2019s approach to influence operations, including those intended to shape Americans\u2019 views toward the CCP-controlled People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) government. The organization operates within a broader strategy of united front work, whose purpose \u201c\u2026is to control, mobilize, and otherwise make use of individuals outside the party to achieve [CCP] objectives.\u201d\n\nCUSEF is guided by officials in the Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a key united front forum designed to advance CCP objectives in and beyond the PRC. The founder and longtime chair of CUSEF, Tung Chee-hwa, was the vice chair of the CPPCC and clearly aligns with CCP interests. Since the 1980s, Tung served as a proxy for the CCP in Hong Kong, where as the first chief executive he pushed for the kind of draconian national security legislation we see today.\n\nConcerns surrounding CUSEF\u2019s presence in the United States are well documented. Under U.S. law, foreign entities undertaking activities in the United States related to the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a foreign government or a foreign political party are required to be transparent about their operations. Firms representing CUSEF have filed with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) on numerous occasions. In 2021, the now-Director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns agreed with a statement by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence leadership that \u201c\u2026Beijing uses nominally private civic organizations like the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation to sway public opinion and build influence.\u201d\n\nNotably, other institutions of higher education that CUSEF has courted, including the University of Texas at Austin, have rejected accepting any funds from this CCP affiliate in prior years after learning of its nature. Heightened vigilance is warranted today across the country: the U.S. intelligence community\u2019s unclassified assessment delivered to Congress this year notes that Beijing has ramped up efforts to build influence at the state and local levels.\n\nIn the interest of protecting students and the integrity of UMT\u2019s programs, we urge you to terminate any ties with CUSEF and commit to a rigorous vetting process for foreign partnerships going forward. Such a vetting process should exclude organizations like CUSEF that exist to promote the CCP\u2019s narratives and interests\u2014which have proven antithetical to academic freedom and free exchange\u2014and to help the CCP identify foreigners who the party could exploit.\n\nWe are confident that your academic community can achieve the university\u2019s stated aim to make a lasting impact on the common good, including by contributing positively to our nation\u2019s understanding of the PRC and the CCP. We encourage you to ensure such efforts are not undermined by association with entities weaponized as a tool of the CCP. Thank you for your consideration of this issue.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://zinke.house.gov/media/press-releases/zinke-sends-letter-concern-president-bodnar"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5803610440343618, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}