West Texas News

Texas House District 62 candidate Shelley Luther recently made controversial remarks about prohibiting Chinese students from American universities, which received backlash from politicians on both side of the aisle. 

Gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines came to her defense, aligning with his views about the Chinese Communist Party as outlined on his candidate website.

According to a report by NBC News, Luther said on Twitter that Chinese students shouldn’t be allowed to attend universities in Texas. The tweet has since been deleted. Despite criticism of her remarks, Luther later stated that members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should not be able to attend U.S. schools in general. She argued that U.S. taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize education of who would be the next generation of CCP members.

Huffines spoke in support of Luther, saying there is a “coordinated effort within the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our universities.”

“It is not racist to prioritize the security of our nation before foreigners who want to take advantage of our kindness,” Huffines told West Texas News. “As governor I will prevent Chinese nationals from enrolling at Texas colleges, prohibit Chinese companies from purchasing large amounts of land or essential utilities, and I will pursue legal reforms to protect Texans’ intellectual property.”

Huffines said on his campaign website that he sees China as a top geopolitical threat. 

Not everyone agrees with Huffines' assessment of Luther’s ideas.  

NBC News reported that state Rep. Jacey Jetton (R-Fort Bend County), who is Asian-American, said that Luther does not speak for the Republican Party and called on his colleagues to be against her rhetoric. 

“To do otherwise is an attempt to score cheap political points by targeting Chinese people, but real leaders know there is a huge distinction between Chinese individuals and the Chinese government," he said.

State Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) also made a statement against her remarks.

“To casually conflate all Chinese students in America with actual registered members of the ruling party in the People’s Republic of China is not only ignorance of extreme nature, it is also the type of rhetoric that drives anti-Asian hate crimes,” Wu said.

Luther responded with a tweet saying Wu was a "Democratic socialite who doesn't show up for work" and "an enemy of the people."

According to Statista, China is the highest contributor of foreign students to the U.S. In the 2020/2021 school year, more than 317,000 Chinese citizens were enrolled in U.S. schools. State.gov adds that in 2019 there were 370,000 Chinese students in the U.S., the most of any country.

The U.S. Department of State has stated in a fact sheet that it will welcome international students, researchers and scholars to participate in U.S. schooling.

“The vast majority are valuable contributors to campus life, embracing International academic values and posing no threat to American research integrity or security,” the fact sheet reads.

The September 2020 fact sheet revealed that the State Department found several threats posed by the CCP and People’s Republic of China initiated programs to American colleges, universities, faculty and research programs.

Recognizing the threat to U.S. institutions, national security, and trade secrets, the U.S. Department of Justice’s China Initiative is (among other things) actively engaged in countering “non-traditional collectors (e.g., researchers in labs, universities and the defense industrial base) that are being coopted into transferring technology contrary to U.S. interests” as well as educating “colleges and universities about potential threats to academic freedom and open discourse from influence efforts on campus.”