Washington, DC (RI) — Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn says bills that have passed the U.S. House could have prevented the Chinese Communist Party from setting up what appears to be data mining on phones that Iowa kids took on a trip to China. Nunn says 20 students from Des Moines recently went on an all-expenses-paid trip to China.
The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries organized the trip for Des Moines Roosevelt High School’s gospel choir. Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, was assigned to the White House National Security Council when he served in the US Air Force and worked on combating cyber-attacks from Iran and Russia. He’s served as a counterintelligence officer in the US Air Force Reserve.
The bills target Chinese involvement in public K-through-12 schools in the United States. One would ban federal education funds from going to any US school that uses Chinese-funded programs, like Confucius Classrooms, that teach the Chinese language and about Chinese culture.
Another bill that has passed the House and is moving to the Senate would require US public schools to notify the US Department of Education if they accept more than 10 thousand dollars from any foreign source. The third bill requires schools to tell parents if money from any foreign adversary is being used to pay staff or pay for curriculum in their child’s school. A separate effort in Congress seeks to restrict Chinese scholars from participating in research at US universities.
KIWA Staff Photo
