Senator Ashley Moody Introduces Stop CCP VISAs Act to Crack Down on Foreign Espionage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Ashley Moody announced the introduction of bold legislation to halt the issuance of student visas to nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who, by PRC law, are required to steal research and intellectual property to bolster the PRC’s military and defense capabilities. The Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act (Stop CCP VISAs Act) takes action against the malign influence of the CCP in light of years of ample evidence of PRC students and researchers spying on the U.S. military and stealing advanced technology, research and intellectual property from American research institutions and companies. While this pattern of espionage has persisted for decades, these illicit activities went into overdrive after the PRC implemented its 2015 National Security Law which requires PRC nationals to cooperate with the CCP on “matters of national security” and its 2017 National Intelligence Law which requires PRC nationals to assist in intelligence-gathering. Representative Riley Moore is leading the Stop CCP VISAs Act in the House of Representatives.

 

Senator Ashley Moody said, “For decades, the failed post-Cold War consensus assumed China would democratize and liberalize if we welcomed them into our markets, media, and universities. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took advantage of Americans’ goodwill and subversively exported agents to our shores to spy, oppress dissidents and enemies of the state, and steal publicly funded research and intellectual property to the tune of billions of dollars. Now, by law, nationals of the PRC are forced to engage in intelligence gathering and espionage, and those who refuse face retaliation and persecution against themselves and family members. It is unfortunate that the CCP’s draconian national security law requires us to take such drastic measures, but the risk of allowing this to continue unabated is too great to ignore.”

 

Congressman Riley Moore said, “Every year we allow nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals to come to the U.S. on student visas. We’ve literally invited the CCP to spy on our military, steal our intellectual property, and threaten national security. Just last year, the FBI charged five Chinese nationals here on student visas after they were caught photographing joint US-Taiwan live fire military exercises. This cannot continue. Congress needs to end China’s exploitation of our student visa program. It’s time we turn off the spigot and immediately ban all student visas going to Chinese nationals.”

 

While Senator Moody was Florida’s Attorney General, she defended the State of Florida from litigation over the implementation of a similar law to stop the Chinese Communist Party from influencing the state’s public colleges and universities.

 

There have been several documented cases from recent years that underscore the vital importance of this legislation, included but not limited to:

1. January 2020: two Chinese nationals and graduate students at the University of Michigan, were arrested for illegally entering Naval Air Station Key West on January 4, 2020, and taking photos of military infrastructure. Despite being denied entry at a checkpoint, they drove onto the base and were apprehended 30 minutes later. Both pleaded guilty, with Zhang sentenced to 12 months in prison and Wang to nine months, followed by one year of supervised release. 
2. In Michigan, 5 PRC students were recently charged after being caught photographing U.S. and Taiwanese troops conducting live fire exercises.
3. In Newport News, Virginia (where the U.S. Navy has a massive presence), a PRC national was convicted after flying a drone with a camera over a naval shipyard. He was a student at the University of Minnesota.
4. In Chicago, a PRC national who first came to the U.S. on a student visa was convicted after being tasked by the CCP to recruit spies to steal advanced technology. 
5. In July 2020, the DOJ charged four individuals with visa fraud for allegedly concealing their ties to the PLA while conducting research in the United States.
6. In July 2020, a Chinese researcher at UCLA on a J-1 visa, was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence to obstruct an FBI investigation.
7. In December 2019, a PLA lieutenant, was charged with visa fraud in connection with her J-1 visa application, acting as a foreign agent, and conspiracy. While studying at Boston University, she allegedly concealed her military ties and conducted research for the PLA, including gathering information from U.S. military websites.
8. In December 2019, a Chinese doctoral student, pleaded guilty to photographing sites on Naval Air Station Key West after illegally entering the restricted area on December 26, 2019. Initially claiming he was capturing the sunrise, they later admitted to photographing government buildings near sensitive military facilities. He was on a full Chinese government scholarship while studying in St. Louis. 
9. In May 2015, Prosecutors say three individuals and holders of U.S. advanced degrees who had entered the U.S. on student visas, conspired to use stolen U.S. trade secrets to establish a technology company in China with support from Tianjin University.

 

MORE:

• U.S. State Department fact sheet detailing the CCP’s activities on U.S. campuses.
• A 2019 report by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) details the CCP’s operations to recruit students and researchers to conduct espionage and intellectual property theft.
• In 2024, an investigation by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Education and Workforce Committee identified hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. federal research funding which contributed to the PRC’s technological advancements and military modernization.

 

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