[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] U.S. colleges must immediately stop their partnerships with China, a lawmaker is warning after a sinister 'military base spy plot' involving students was exposed.
The leader of the House China Committee Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., has been warning of China's growing operations within the U.S., and particularly Michigan, for months.
On Wednesday, his warnings came to a head when the FBI announced charges against five Chinese University of Michigan graduates who were discovered with cameras on a military base during a live-fire exercise with U.S. and Taiwanese forces.
Even more surprising is that the graduates, who were caught in August 2023 but were just charged, are not in the FBI's custody.
In fact, the FBI's Tuesday court filing does not indicate where the men are, or if authorities know where to find them.
Now Moolenaar is issuing the stunning warning that U.S. colleges must 'shut down' their joint efforts with Chinese universities immediately.
'All of our nation's universities must shut down their joint institutes with Chinese universities and enact stricter guardrails on emerging technology research,' he wrote in a statement to DailyMail.com.
'American universities must realize they are a target for espionage and protect the critical taxpayer-funded research they do.'
The Chinese men were found at Camp Grayling - a nearly 150,000-acre complex used by the Michigan Army National Guard - using cameras near classified military communications equipment and vehicles during Northern Strike, one of the largest training exercises held in the U.S.
All of them recently graduated from the University of Michigan through a partnership program between the school and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China.
'This case shows once again that CCP espionage can happen anywhere in America, and we must be vigilant,' Moolenaar warned.
In the FBI-submitted court filing the agency revealed there have been multiple instances of Chinese college students photographing critical U.S. defense sites.
Two Chinese nationals who also studied at University of Michigan were sentenced to prison for one year terms in 2020 for similarly trespassing and photographing a military site in Florida.
Camp Grayling, Moolenaar says, is of particular interest to the CCP.
He has been warning that a Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion is working to bring a massive plant to an area roughly 100 miles away from the camp.
'The CCP obviously has an interest in Camp Grayling, and this is further evidence it would be a mistake for Michigan leaders to allow Gotion to build in our state,' his statement continued.
'State funding for Gotion's plan to bring Chinese nationals to Mecosta County is an open invitation for further spying on Camp Grayling.'
'For national security reasons, Governor Whitmer and the legislature must revoke state funding for Gotion immediately,' he said.
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