Review of Chinese-owned US private schools and military academies sought by American lawmaker
- ‘What we’re worried about is a concerted effort by the CCP to influence the next generation of Americans,’ Representative Michael Waltz of Florida says
- Waltz asks Pentagon to survey secondary schools that offer Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programmes, which are funded by the Defence Department
Washington’s current alarm over possible Chinese espionage and its continuing concerns about the Chinese Communist Party have extended to a new front: private US primary and secondary schools – specifically ones offering federal-funded military training – that are owned by Chinese companies.
US Representative Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is calling for the Pentagon to review foreign-owned private schools that produce the country’s future military leaders.
“What we’re worried about is a concerted effort by the CCP to influence the next generation of Americans,” he said in an interview, adding that Congress would be “taking a hard look” at the need for new legislation to restrict companies from countries of concern from acquiring private schools in the US.
Last month, Waltz raised the issue with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a letter, citing two US private schools with military training programmes that are owned by companies that have what he called “strong ties with the CCP”.
A Defence Department spokeswoman said that it would be “inappropriate to comment” on congressional correspondence but that the Pentagon was “looking into” the questions about the degree of national security threat posed by Chinese-owned private schools providing military officers’ training.
It’s unclear how many such private schools there are in the US. Part of Waltz’s request to the Pentagon was that it survey all its Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programmes at private schools and determine whether those schools are owned by foreign companies.