Key facts
- Stanford University received millions of dollars from Chinese state-linked entities and CCP-connected donors.
- A whistleblower provided private foreign funding disclosures to The Stanford Review.
- Donors include BOE Technology Group, Huawei, State Grid Corporation of China, and the Ma Huateng Foundation.
- Political elites like Chen Yuan's son and William Ding also made significant donations.
- The university stated it conducts rigorous due diligence on all gifts, especially international ones.
A whistleblower has leaked private foreign funding records from Stanford University to The Stanford Review, a student-run newspaper. The disclosures reveal millions of dollars in funding from Chinese state-linked entities, political elites, and organizations tied to Beijing's influence operations. Among the donors are BOE Technology Group ($254,000 in contracts), Huawei Technologies ($250,000 in contracts and gifts), State Grid Corporation of China ($1.5 million in contracts and gifts), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ($1.1 million in contracts). Political figures and their families also appear as donors, including Chen Yuan's son, Xiaoxin Chen, who donated $1,020,000 in 2024, and William Ding, CEO of NetEase, who gave $25.1 million between 2020 and 2021. The funds were reportedly routed through a San Francisco law firm, Adler & Colvin, which can obscure the true source of the donations. Stanford University stated that it adheres to a longstanding practice of not disclosing donor names without authorization and conducts rigorous due diligence on all gifts, including international ones. The Hoover Institution at Stanford, which is involved in national research security work and examines Beijing's influence campaigns, also receives funding from these entities. The report highlights the potential national security risks associated with foreign funding channels in higher education.