A Virginia public high school, ranked among the best in America, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2014 from entities associated with the Chinese state as part of an ongoing fundraising campaign.
The Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund (TJPF) at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology received donations of at least $250,000 from the nonprofit Ameson Education and Cultural Exchange Foundation in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 – and between $100,000 and $500,000 in fiscal year 2018, according to obtained documents by the conservative group Parents Defending Education and reported first by the Washington examiner.
Sean Zhang, the founder and executive vice chairman of Ameson, has ties to Beijing’s so-called United Front Work Department, which said the US in 2018 works to “co-opt and neutralize” the opposition to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
TJPF’s annual newsletter also crowed about a donation of at least $500,000 from Chinese department store giant Shirble HK in fiscal 2018. Shirble chairman Yang Xiangbo is also involved in the United Front, according to the Examiner.
The fund also raised at least $250,000 in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 from a leading Chinese higher education institution, Tsinghua University, to establish a high school in China based on Thomas Jefferson’s model for teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
According to the Pentagon, Tsinghua University has close ties to the Chinese military. A Ministry of Defence 2020 report listed Peking University was home to laboratories affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army. Two years later, a separate report stated that the Chinese Air Force had established a “Dual-Enrollment Program” with three universities, including Tsinghua.
“Americans deserve answers to the question of what information was collected by CCP-affiliated entities through Thomas Jefferson High School — and where else it might take place, as many other schools across the country are currently receiving foreign funding,” Nicki Neily, executive director of Parents Defending Education. told The Post on Tuesday.
“He who pays the piper sets the tone — and at the top high school in the country, the implications of this are frightening, given that TJ students regularly participate in mentorship programs at federal agencies,” she said.
The donations helped pay for faculty travel and student exchange visits between the US and China, as well as renovations on the Virginia school’s campus and first-class labs.
U.S. News and World Report rated Thomas Jefferson the No. 1 high school in America for 2022, praising the Alexandria school’s course offerings, such as “DNA science, advanced marine biology, automation and robotics, architectural drafting and design, research statistics, and AP calculus. ”
A Fairfax County Public Schools spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
