In part two of this interview, Stanford student and Stanford Review managing editor Elsa Johnson continues her story about an unsettling encounter with a man who at first seemed to be a fellow student.

She details how he pressured her to travel to China without proper documents, aggressively pushed her to join WeChat under CCP monitoring, and displayed suspicious knowledge about other Stanford students abroad.

Check out Elsa's report in The Stanford Review: https://stanfordreview.org/investigation-uncovering-chinese-academic-espionage-at-stanford/

Check back next week for part 3!

In this first episode of a four-part series, Dr. William Saunders, Director of the Center for Human Rights at The Catholic University of America, sits down with Elsa Johnson, a Stanford University student, Managing Editor of The Stanford Review, and President of the Stanford Republican Club.

Elsa shares her eye-opening experience of being approached online by someone connected to the Chinese Communist Party. What began as a seemingly ordinary Instagram message soon revealed deeper attempts at influence and recruitment.

Check out Elsa's report in The Stanford Review: https://stanfordreview.org/investigation-uncovering-chinese-academic-espionage-at-stanford/

Click here for part 2:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wmgtCArzvkYmuQdX0ZpYy?si=eRvWVAC0RTedStxUWgjAKA

The Chinese Communist Party has long paid online commenters in China, known as the “50 Cent Army,” or, "The Five Dimes." to spread propaganda and drown out dissent. But now, they are taking this strategy global.In this episode, Chen Guangcheng discusses how the CCP is expanding its influence by reportedly paying foreign commenters up to $5 per post to attack activists, manipulate public opinion, and interfere in democratic processes abroad.

In this episode Chen Guangcheng tells the story of a 14-year-old girl in Jiangyou, Sichuan Province, whose brutal bullying was caught on video and spread online.

When her father turned to the police for help, they refused to act — and soon after, the girl disappeared.

As the video went viral, thousands of citizens flooded the streets demanding justice, only to be met with crackdowns, arrests, and censorship.

In this episode of the Barefoot Lawyer Reports, Chen Guangcheng exposes the suspicious death of Luo Shuaiyu, a young medical intern in Hunan Province, whose story reveals chilling evidence of forced organ harvesting in China.

After Luo’s death was labeled a “suicide,” his father uncovered thousands of deleted transplant documents, secret recordings of doctors, and a video in which Luo insisted he would never take his own life.

This episode investigates how the CCP covers up organ trafficking, silences families, and profits from corruption at the highest levels of the medical system.

Check out the interview with a survivor of organ harvesting: https://youtu.be/muCNGkJ3GQE

In this episode of the Barefoot Lawyer Reports on China, Chen Guangcheng discusses a deadly car attack in Kunming, Yunnan Province, and how the Chinese Communist Party quickly censored the story.

He explains why many in China no longer trust the courts or government to protect their rights, and how censorship fuels desperation and unrest.

In this episode, Chen Guangcheng exposes a new tactic in the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda campaign: AI-generated videos impersonating him. He explains how these fake clips spread quickly online, fueled by suspicious accounts and coordinated comments, and warns about the growing danger of an information war on social media.

The CCP’s efforts to influence American democracy may go deeper than many realize.

This episode discusses new FBI findings alleging that over 20,000 fake IDs were created to interfere in the 2020 election. It also examines the rise of UCA—an American nonprofit with reported ties to Chinese propaganda arms.

With evidence of foreign influence, protest manipulation, and ideological infiltration, there are urgent questions about national security and election integrity that need to be addressed.

In this episode Chen Guangcheng discusses alarming reports from mainland China about human trafficking and forced organ harvesting. In June 2025, three children were found locked in metal cages in a truck in Hainan Province, highlighting a worsening trafficking crisis.

Guangcheng explains how vulnerable groups, including children and religious minorities, are at risk, and how the Chinese government is accused of covering up these disappearances.

As Hong Kong tightens its grip on religious expression, Cardinal Zen continues his ministry under police bail, refusing exile and remaining a symbol of resistance.

Dr. Eric Lai joins William Saunders to discuss the growing threat to religious education, the state's push for ideological conformity, and the quiet heroism of those still fighting for their faith. With new trials looming and freedoms shrinking, solidarity with Hong Kong’s faithful is more urgent than ever.

Dr. Eric Lai is a research fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Asian Law and the author of the forthcoming book Legal Resistance under Authoritarianism: The Struggle for the Rule of Law in Hong Kong. His research explores the intersection of law, politics, and human rights in authoritarian and hybrid regimes, with a focus on Hong Kong. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he has been active in civil society and human rights education since 2010.