The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has set its sights on Harvard University following an incident during a speech by Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, at the Harvard Kennedy School in April. As reported by The Harvard Crimson, the House Committee launched a probe this Monday, questioning the University’s commitment to safeguarding freedom of expression after several protesters were forcibly removed during a demonstration.
The protest, originally misdescribed as a pro-Tibet action before corrections were issued by The Harvard Crimson, was broader in its scope as an anti-CCP event. Harvard’s handling of the protest resulted in chairman John R. Moolenaar (R-Mich.) writing a four-page letter to interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76. In the letter, Moolenaar expresses his concern over Harvard’s potential complacency in the face of "transnational repression" by the Chinese government and questions whether a Harvard student's physical removal of protester Cosette T. Wu ’25 could be seen as assault under Massachusetts law.
Moolenaar’s inquiry asks the University to provide details about the individual who dragged Wu out of the event and whether any disciplinary actions have been taken. The clash, stirred by protesters affiliated with Students for a Free Tibet and the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP, has been seen by some as indicative of the challenges facing international students from China, who may confront harassment and intimidation condoned by the Chinese government for their criticism.
The event, organized by the Kennedy School’s Greater China Society, has also brought Harvard’s oversight of foreign government-backed student organizations under scrutiny. The Select Committee on China is demanding that Harvard disclose any affiliations with such organizations, including the Greater China Society’s possible connections with the Chinese government or diplomatic missions. A historical link between the now-defunct China Society of HKS and the Greater China Society, both sharing similar logos, is also under the spotlight. The Committee noted this past affiliation may tie back to the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, an organization criticized for censoring anti-China dialogue on U.S. campuses, as noted by The Harvard Crimson.
The probe into Harvard comes among other investigative actions by a number of congressional committees focusing on the university, including a separate examination of campus antisemitism by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce earlier this year. Harvard has been asked to respond to the Select Committee on China by July 26, 2024, as the tension between academic freedom and international politics continues to unfold on campus grounds.
