Harvard Compromised: A Silent Ally in China’s Long Game

Previously renowned for its academic prestige, Harvard has quietly transformed into the “Second Central Party School” with the CCP exerting influence and control over research, policy, and free speech

Since 1978, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has cultivated deep ties with Harvard University, leveraging its global prestige to advance Beijing’s geopolitical objectives and undermine Western interests. From enrolling high-profile figures like Xi Jinping’s daughter to securing influence—and sometimes silence—through strategic donations, China has exploited Harvard’s academic ecosystem to promote its policy agenda, facilitate technology transfer, suppress dissent, and erode the principles of academic freedom, transparency, and national security. In short, Harvard has become a willing partner in the CCP’s long game to quietly erode the foundations of Western society under the guise of collaboration.

One of the more visible but far from worst examples of how far Harvard has been compromised was when the University placed three undergraduate students on disciplinary probation for protesting the visit of Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng in April 2024. A pro-CCP student who physically confronted and manhandled a protester was not disciplined. Instead, he was, incredibly, given an apology. This of course stands in stark contrast to how Harvard has been handling anti-Israel protesters.

There was also the 2015 incident in which Harvard canceled a long-planned human rights event because it coincided with then–Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust’s visit with Xi Jinping in Beijing. Vice Dean of the Law School, William Alford, later admitted he cancelled the event because he “thought that timing might have an impact on university activity there [China].” Put more plainly, Harvard sacrificed free speech and academic integrity to preserve its cozy relationship with the Chinese regime.

The appalling treatment of student protesters and the broader suppression of dissent are just symptoms of a deeper, decades-long pattern of deference to Beijing.

After Deng Xiaoping commenced his economic reforms, Chinese universities were allowed to reengage with Western academia—and in 1978, Harvard was the first to step through the door. That move was questionable even then, given that only a few years earlier, the CCP had purged its own intellectual class, sending academics to labor camps or rural exile during the Cultural Revolution. Many of them never returned. From there, Harvard’s relationship with China deepened. The university established academic exchanges to promote U.S.-China cooperation, and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies—founded in 1955 but revitalized in the late 1970s—became a key conduit, hosting Chinese researchers and forging ties with Chinese officials and institutions. These early connections laid the foundation for growing CCP influence, as Beijing quickly grasped that Harvard wasn’t just a global intellectual powerhouse—it was a source of prestige, a pipeline to elite networks, and, increasingly, a useful ally.

A notable milestone was the enrollment of Xi Jinping’s daughter, Xi Mingze, at Harvard from 2010 to 2014 under a pseudonym. Her presence, while discreet, underscored Harvard’s appeal as a training ground for China’s elite and signaled Beijing’s trust in the institution. This symbolic connection enhanced Harvard’s status in China, paving the way for increased financial and academic engagement, often with implicit expectations of reciprocity.

There are many ways China has leveraged its ties to Harvard, and we’ll explore several below. But perhaps the most alarming—and least reported—example is the one involving Anthony Fauci, a case that directly impacted all of us and revealed just how deeply these ties affect our lives.