WASHINGTON — U.S. House lawmakers are asking the State Department to review the status of a network of Chinese student organizations operating on American college campuses.
Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg of Michigan, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar of Michigan, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast of Florida sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting that the Chinese Students and Scholars Association be designated as a foreign mission of the Chinese government.
Lawmakers argue the groups may advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party on U.S. campuses.
If designated as a foreign mission, CSSA chapters would be required to notify the State Department before meetings with universities or local governments and obtain approval for certain public events.
The lawmakers also sent copies of the letter to the U.S. attorney general and the U.S. secretary of education.