INSIDIOUS Chinese Sleeper Cells FINALLY EXPOSED

Handcuffs on red background with yellow stars — Photo: Mehaniq / Shutterstock

The Pentagon has declared China-backed Confucius Institutes a national security threat after it says they came back to U.S. colleges under new names.

Story Highlights

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says 80 “propaganda cells” had popped up at 30 U.S. universities with different names but the same mission.
Hegseth says the department shut down every one of them over the past two months.
The universities faced the loss of federal research money if they did not cut ties.
Confucius Institutes were nearly wiped out after Congress cut off Pentagon funding to the schools that hosted them.

Pentagon Designation and the Shutdown

On Friday, October 23, Hegseth announced in a video on X that the Department of War has added Confucius Institutes to its list of groups that threaten national security. The Department of War is the name the Trump administration uses for the Defense Department. Confucius Institutes are language and culture centers on college campuses that are funded and run through China’s Ministry of Education.

Hegseth said the institutes went into hiding after Congress acted against them. He called them “sleeper organizations,” meaning groups that lie quiet until they are needed. “It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students,” he said. He said the department “systematically dismantled every single one of these organizations.” The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment, according to reports.

How the Pentagon Found Them

The shutdown grew out of a review the Pentagon ordered in August. It told 30 public and private universities to check their ties to foreign schools and research groups on its restricted list. That list names about 130 institutions in China, Russia and Iran. The schools also had to check for links to groups tied to rebranded Confucius Institutes. A school that did not comply risked losing its eligibility for federal research money.

On Monday, October 19, the department said all 30 universities had complied. It said the reviews led to “more than 80 termination-related actions,” which means canceled partnerships and cut ties. The department praised seven schools, including Penn State, Virginia Tech and the University of Texas at Austin, for ending problem relationships quickly. It has not publicly named all 30 universities or the 80 groups.

Why This Follows Years of Scrutiny

Confucius Institutes first came to American campuses in 2004. At their peak in 2017, there were 118 of them. Lawmakers in both parties warned for years that they brought Chinese government censorship onto campus and could open a door to spying and theft of research.

In 2018, Congress cut off Pentagon language-program funding to schools that hosted the institutes. A 2021 law went further and barred most Defense Department funding to those schools without a waiver. By 2023, fewer than five were left, according to federal auditors. Most schools said they closed them to protect their federal money. Supporters of the institutes have long said they offered Chinese language and culture classes that students could not get elsewhere.

What Comes Next for Campuses

With the threat label in place, Hegseth has made clear the department will treat these groups as a security matter, whatever name they use. The Pentagon also expanded its restricted list in July, so universities have more names to check their partnerships against.

Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, who leads the House committee that studies the Chinese Communist Party, praised the review’s results. “Americans’ tax dollars should never subsidize China’s military ambitions,” he said on October 19.

Bottom Line for Families and Taxpayers

American families pay for much of the research done at U.S. universities, through tuition and through taxes. That work can lead to new medicines, weapons and products. Hegseth’s message was aimed squarely at Beijing. “Let this be a lesson to any country trying to steal our hard earned inventions,” he said. For parents and taxpayers, the goal is simple: campuses that teach American students and protect American research.