Florida Representative Carlos Giménez has suggested that China may be backing some of the recent pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses in the U.S. Giménez made the comments during an appearance on Business Network’s, where he said that there is “information” indicating that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is involved in funding the protests.
When asked by the host if there is a way to verify that China is involved in the protests, Giménez said that he had “some information that, yes, that somehow, through another organization, the CCP actually funds that organization who is funding these people.”
Giménez’s comments come amid growing tensions over pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country. Over the past few days, pro-Palestinian protests have taken over parts of the in a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” to demand that the Columbia administration divest from companies affiliated with Israel.
Tensions across university campuses have been high over the past six months as Israel continues its war in Gaza, which began after the Palestinian militant group launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7 that left 1,200 people dead and saw more than 200 taken hostage. More than 34,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began, the Associated Press reported, citing local health officials.
On Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said on WNYW’s that police are investigating who could be “behind” the ongoing protests. “Look at the tents,” Daughtry said. “They all were the same color, they all were the same type of tents. The same ones that we saw or NYU, the same ones that we see in Colombia. To me, “Somebody’s behind this, and we’re going to find out who it is,” Daughtry added.
Some have recently called on federal and local officials to deploy the National Guard to respond to the protests at Columbia. “The nascent pogroms at Columbia have to stop TODAY, before our Jewish brethren sit for Passover Seder tonight. If [Mayor] Eric Adams won’t send the NYPD and [Governor] Kathy Hochul won’t send the National Guard, [President] has a duty to take charge and break up these mobs,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote on X, formerly .
Missouri Republican Senator said: “[President Dwight] Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock. It’s time for Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans.”
Hochul said this week that she to deploy National Guard troops as NYPD officials were recently authorized to begin arresting some protesters.
Columbia University announced this week that classes will be on a hybrid model for the remainder of the spring semester. University President Minouche Shafik also announced that school officials were planning to meet with protest organizers to discuss ways to deescalate.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground. Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
