A Virginia public high school ranked among the best in the U.S. has raised millions of dollars from Chinese state-linked organizations since 2014 as part of an ongoing fundraising campaign.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund (TJPF) received donations of at least $250,000 from the nonprofit Amazon Education and Cultural Exchange Foundation in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 — and $100,000 and $500,080 respectively in 2015. in the Received documents by the conservative group Parents Defending Education and First reported By the Washington Examiner.
Amazon founder and executive vice chairman Sean Zhang has ties to Beijing’s so-called United Front Work Department, which America said in 2018 Works to “support and neutralize” opposition to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
TJPF’s annual newsletter also called for a donation of at least $500,000 from Chinese department store giant Shirbal HK in fiscal year 2018. Shirbal’s chairman, Yang Xiangbo, is also involved in the United Front, according to the Examiner.
The fund also received at least $250,000 from Tsinghua University, a major Chinese institution of higher education, in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to found high schools in China based on Thomas Jefferson’s model of teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics. can help in
According to the Pentagon, Tsinghua University has deep ties to China’s military. A defense department The 2020 report has been noted Beijing University was home to laboratories associated with the People’s Liberation Army.
Two years later, a separate report noted that the Chinese Air Force had established a “dual-enrollment program” with three universities, including Tsinghua.
“Americans deserve answers about what information was collected by CCP-affiliated entities at Thomas Jefferson High School — and where it might be, given that so many other schools across the country currently receive foreign funding,” the parents said. Executive Director of Defense Education Nikki Neely. told the Post on Tuesday.
“He who pays the piper calls the tune — and at the nation’s top high school, the implications are frightening, given the fact that TJ students regularly participate in mentoring programs with federal agencies. ,” he said.
The donation helped pay for faculty trips and student exchange visits between the U.S. and China, as well as renovations to the Virginia school’s campus and its state-of-the-art labs.
US News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America for 2022, praising course offerings such as “DNA science, advanced marine biology, automation and robotics, architectural drawing and design, research statistics and AP Calculus.” done “
A spokesperson for Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment.
