一群国会共和党人指责中国试图通过对美国学生的灌输来传播共产党的宣传和减缓美国冠状病毒的研究。
周一，共和党高级成员分布在七个众议院委员会，这些委员会也是唐纳德·特朗普总统的国会盟友寄了一封信教育部长贝特西·德沃斯指责北京向美国的大学提供资金和资源。成员们说，北京试图通过这次行动来传播宣传并阻止美国对COVID-19的研究。专家组还要求DeVos提供与其指控相关的进一步信息。
国会议员吉姆·乔丹，众议院监督委员会的高级共和党人，在这封信中领导了这个团体，据报道，这封信也是由共和党的国土安全、科学、武装服务、教育和情报以及外交事务委员会的成员签署的。
2017年11月9日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(右)和中国的习近平主席(左)抵达北京人民大会堂内的商业领袖活动。
关于中国渗透到美国高等教育领域的指控并不新鲜，而且发生在COVID-19爆发之前。北京的批评者长期以来一直质疑中国国内学生、教授和其他学者面临的潜在安全威胁。2018年，美国留学生总数的大约三分之一——37万——来自中国。
最近几周，美国和中国就各自对全球冠状病毒大流行的处理进行了交锋，双方都试图将责任推给对方。在特朗普面临不确定的连任竞选之际，总统和他在国会的共和党盟友加大了对北京的批评，批评内容涉及他们的反应和病毒的来源。
特朗普上周四告诉记者，他看到的证据让他高度自信冠状病毒起源于中国武汉的一个实验室。几小时前，美国情报官员证实，他们正在探索这种新型疾病意外从武汉病毒学研究所泄漏的可能性，证实新闻周刊之前的报道。虽然国家情报局局长办公室坚持其关于没有人为干预疫情的立场，但他们指出，该疾病的起源需要进一步检查。
北京方面为自己对病毒的处理进行了辩护，指责美国说谎，并敦促特朗普集中精力抗击病毒。中国外交部发言人耿爽上周在新闻发布会上表示:“美国政客一再无视事实真相，公然撒谎。”。“他们只有一个目标:推卸自己在防疫和控制措施上的责任，转移公众的注意力。”
“美国应该知道这一点:敌人是病毒，而不是中国，”双补充道。
特朗普政府的四名高级官员告诉记者华盛顿邮报周四，美国官员开始讨论对中国的惩罚。据报道，一些官员建议联邦政府应该取消一些对国家的债务以示报复。当被要求发表评论时，特朗普还威胁要使用关税。
新闻周刊联系中国驻华盛顿大使馆寻求评论。这个故事将会随着任何评论而更新。
CHINA TRIED TO INDOCTRINATE U.S. STUDENTS TO SPREAD COMMUNIST PARTY PROPAGANDA, SLOW CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH, REPUBLICANS SAY
Agroup of congressional Republicans have accused China of seeking to spread Communist Party propaganda and slow U.S. coronavirus research through the indoctrination of American students.
The ranking GOP members spread across seven House committees, who are also congressional allies of President Donald Trump, on Monday sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos accusing Beijing of providing funds and resources to universities in America. The members said Beijing attempted the operation to spread propaganda and impede U.S. research into COVID-19. The group also asked DeVos to provide further information pertaining to their allegations.
Congressman Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight committee, led the group in the letter, which was also reportedly signed by members of the GOP on the Homeland Security, Science, Armed Services, Education and Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees.
US President Donald Trump (R) and China's President Xi Jinping (L) arrive at a business leaders event inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017.
Allegations of Chinese infiltration in the U.S. higher education sector is not new and predates the COVID-19 outbreak. Beijing critics have long questioned the potential security threat attached to domestic Chinese students, professors and other academics. In 2018, roughly one third—370,000—of the total number of international students in America were from China.
The U.S. and China have traded jabs in recent weeks over their respective handling of the global coronavirus pandemic, with each attempting to shift the blame onto the other. As Trump faces an uncertain reelection campaign, the president and his congressional Republican allies have ramped up their criticisms of Beijing over their response and the origins of the virus.
Trump last Thursday told reporters that he's seen evidence that gives him a high degree of confidence that the coronavirus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. Hours earlier, U.S. intelligence officials confirmed they were exploring the possibility that the novel disease accidentally leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, confirming Newsweek's previous reporting on the matter. While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence maintained their position regarding the absence of human intervention pertaining to the outbreak, they noted that the disease's origins will require further examination.
Beijing has defended its handling of the virus, accused America of telling lies and urged Trump to focus on battling the virus. "American politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have been telling barefaced lies," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a press conference last week. "They have only one objective: shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures, and divert public attention."
"The U.S. should know this: The enemy is the virus, not China," Shuang added.
Four senior Trump administration officials told the Washington Post on Thursday that U.S. officials have started discussing punishments for China. Some officials have reportedly suggested the federal government should wipe some of its debt obligations to the country in retaliation. When asked to comment, Trump also threatened the use of tariffs.
Newsweek reached out to China's embassy in Washington D.C. for comment. This story will be updated with any comment.
