A Stanford student's account of being allegedly targeted by a suspected Chinese intelligence operative has jolted new attention onto long-standing warnings that US universities are vulnerable to foreign espionage, coercion and intimidation.
The allegations returned to the spotlight after Elsa Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Stanford Review, testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on 26 Mar 2026. In her appearance, she described what she said was a years-long effort to cultivate and pressure female students researching China-related subjects.
