 Greg Ganske, retired surgeon and former Member of Congress from Iowa, wonders what role illicit surveillance may have played in the suicide of a young woman from China who had been a friend of his daughter. He wondered if China’s “Big Brother activity” had contributed to the woman’s mental illness. So Ganske looked into the mental health of the 300,000 Chinese students studying in U.S. colleges and universities. “All students in transitioning to college face loss of structure, separation from their parents, and increased exposure to drugs and alcohol,” Ganske writes in JohnKassNews.com. Fourteen percent of all U.S. college students report symptoms of depression. But a cross-sectional study of 130 Chinese international and graduate students at Yale University found that 45 percent exhibited symptoms of depression and 29 percent were anxious. What might explain this propensity of Chinese students to mental illness? One reason might be the pressure from traditional Confucian social structures for students to excel academically. Another might be the disorientation of students who were raised in the security of a one-child family suddenly thrust into a strange, new country. But another might be the ever-roving eye of the Chinese surveillance state. Human rights NGOs revealed the presence of 102 Chinese “police stations” in 53 countries that mount “persuasion-to-return operations” – often through threats against family in China – to force Chinese dissidents to return to China. When they do, they are usually prosecuted for crimes against the Chinese state. But Chinese students don’t have to go home to be targeted. Students who attended commemorations of the Tiananmen massacre on U.S. campuses in 2024, who took precautions to keep their names secret, nevertheless found that their parents were roughed up by authorities only a few hours later. As we reported at the time, this could only happen if Chinese agents on U.S. campuses had shown up and took video of the participants. Much of this pressure comes from the Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs), with offices on almost every campus. Ganske writes: “Their stated function is to help overseas Chinese in their life, study and work bringing Chinese students together. However, CSSAs are overseen by the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department. CSSAs receive guidance from the CCP through Chinese embassies and consulates. Human rights groups describe CSSAs as NGOs used to surveil and report on Chinese students abroad.” Being under constant watch in a seemingly open society is a likely reason why so many Chinese students in the United States report anxiety, depression, and mental illness. PPSA reported on an Australian study that found that when people know they are being surveilled, they become jumpy and hyperaware of faces. It makes them quick to ask: Is this person someone I know or a stranger? Now imagine being on campus where Big Brother has a local office and Chinese intelligence is following your every click and showing up at your every event. Ganske recounts a report from Amnesty International: “More than half of the students interviewed said they suffered mental health issues linked to their fears. Some even cut contact with loved ones back home to protect them from being targeted by the Chinese authorities. This made them even more isolated and lonely.” The United States doesn’t have to tolerate a shadow police state from a hostile regime. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) have introduced the Expel Illegal Chinese Police Act, which would use visa restrictions and financial sanctions to crack down on these secret police stations. Chinese visitors who harass or coerce U.S. residents and dissidents would also face enhanced penalties. Kudos to Greg Ganske for highlighting this story, one that is deeply important to 300,000 young people who live among us. We can deplore the treatment of dissenters in China, but we must not tolerate their persecution in America. Comments are closed.
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