House Lawmakers Probe Harvard’s Ties to ‘Blacklisted’ Entities
Three House Republican lawmakers, including House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., asked Harvard University May 19 to provide all communications it has had since 2019 with entities “blacklisted” by the U.S. government.
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In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, the lawmakers outlined several “troubling” partnerships and activities, including Harvard’s training of members of China’s Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a paramilitary group that is on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List for its role in the “genocide” of China’s Uyghur Muslims.
“Harvard provided services to XPCC on multiple occasions after the U.S. Treasury Department listed XPCC on the SDN List in 2020,” the letter says. “Treasury’s sanctions generally prohibit U.S. persons from contributing or providing any funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of a designated party as well as the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any designated party.”
The letter also alleges that Harvard researchers have partnered with Chinese military-linked universities and worked on projects funded by Iran’s government.
The letter, which seeks a response to its request by June 2, is co-signed by House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. Harvard didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.