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Top US high school collaborated with Chinese state military-affiliated institution (Fairfax Co.)

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mountaineer:
Top US high school collaborated with Chinese state military-affiliated institution
by Jerry Dunleavy, Justice Department Reporter |
March 07, 2023 09:00 AM

EXCLUSIVE — The top public school in the United States received hundreds of thousands of dollars from groups tied to China’s military.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), part of Fairfax County Public Schools, is consistently ranked as the top high school in the nation. However, this element of its ties to Beijing has been largely unknown — until now.

The prestigious school partnered with Tsinghua University High School (TUHS) in 2014 to assist it and China generally with adopting the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and advanced lab research TJHSST is famous for. TUHS is closely tied to Tsinghua University, considered by the Pentagon to be a Chinese military university.

The Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund (TJPF) received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Tsinghua University as part of this agreement. TJPF also received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Ameson Education and Cultural Exchange Foundation as well as the Chinese company Shirble, which were both led by men tied to China’s United Front Work Department, the Chinese government’s foreign influence campaign. TJPF exists to support the Virginia school, and the fund’s board of directors includes TJ’s principal, assistant principal, faculty representatives, and the head of TJ’s parent-teacher association.  ... Washington Examiner

mountaineer:
Fairfax County schools defend their actions:
--- Quote ---Top US high school defends Chinese military-linked funding: 'Not unusual'
By Jerry Dunleavy, Justice Department Reporter
March 09, 2023 12:13 PM

... Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, or TJHSST, part of Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, partnered with Tsinghua University High School, or TUHS, to assist it and China generally with adopting the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, and advanced lab research TJHSST is famous for. TUHS is closely tied to Tsinghua University, considered by the Pentagon to be a Chinese military university.

“Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is a world-renowned academic institution known for its innovative STEM education programming,” Julie Moult, the media relations manager for FCPS, told the Washington Examiner on Thursday. “It is not unusual for elite public schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S. to benefit from donations and grants from various sources, including international sources.” ...

The FCPS spokesperson also sought to distance the TJ fund from TJ high school itself, arguing Thursday that “the TJ Partnership Fund is an independent nonprofit entity.” The TJ fund insists on its website that it is “not affiliated directly with” TJ high school. The TJPF has not responded to a request for comment.  ...
--- End quote ---
Full story at Washington Examiner

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