A Chinese Communist Party-linked foreign influence group sponsored a climate change conference seeking to mobilize youth advocates in America, the National Pulse can reveal.
NEW – Chinese Communist Party-linked foreign influence group CUSEF reportedly sponsored a climate change conference seeking to mobilize youth advocates in America.https://t.co/4dJKW6HBtU
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 14, 2021
The entity sponsoring the recent conference, the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), is part of Beijing’s “United Front” effort, which the U.S. government identifies as seeking to “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party” and “influence foreign governments to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing.”
CUSEF’s website notes that it “sponsored” the Sino-American Youth Dialogue on Climate Change, carried out in collaboration with two schools: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tsinghua University.
“Co-hosted by Tsinghua University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Sino-American Youth Dialogue on Climate Change (SAYD) will be held in October 8, a month prior to COP26. The aim of the event is to offer a platform for young people from China and the U.S. to put forward ideas and suggestions for the COP26 to address climate change and sustainable development,” CUSEF explains before posing the following questions to attendees:
- What should governments do to confront climate emergency?
- How should businesses develop sustainability strategies to achieve net zero emissions?
- What are the actions that we, as individuals, could do to reduce wastage and gas emissions?
The conference explicitly seeks to mobilize youth activists, as its theme is “making carbon neutral, youth in action.”
“Through discussions and sharing among youth delegates and field experts, the forum hopes to reach consensus on the issue and form valuable policy recommendations,” the conference’s website adds.
Among the event’s speakers were CUSEF founder Tung Chee-hwa, Chinese Communist Party officials, and presidents from both MIT and Tsinghua University. Tsinghua University’s involvement in the conference also follows the school reportedly launching cyberattacks against the U.S. government and having a “clear connection” to the Chinese government on issues of technology and national security according to the U.S. State Department.
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