Senate Takes Aim at Confucius Institutes
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CounterCurrent: Week of 6/28
Senate Takes Aim at Confucius Institutes
CounterCurrent is the National Association of Scholars’ weekly newsletter, bringing you the biggest issues in academia and our responses to them.
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Category: Confucius Institutes; Reading Time: ~3 minutes
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** Featured Article - NAS Commends CONFUCIUS Act, Proposes Amendments by NAS ([link removed][UNIQID])
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Over the past three years, American politicians and higher education leaders have become increasingly aware of the threat Confucius Institutes (CIs) pose to academic freedom and national security in our colleges and universities. This is partially attributable to the National Association of Scholars’ 2017 report, Outsourced to China: Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education ([link removed][UNIQID]) . In it, NAS Policy Director Rachelle Peterson takes a deep dive into the operations of 12 CIs in New York and New Jersey, exposing their bent toward revisionist history and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.
Hanban ([link removed][UNIQID]) , the CCP agency overseeing Confucius Institutes, currently holds a remarkable level of control over the institutes’ curricula and faculty. Consequently, CIs function more as propaganda outlets and less as the “linguistic and cultural centers” they purport to be. CIs routinely sweep Chinese political history and human rights abuses under the rug; they speak of Taiwan and Tibet as undisputed territories of China; they frequently recruit card-carrying members of the CCP to instruct courses; and, as Peterson puts it, they teach “a generation of American students to know nothing more of China than the regime’s official history.” As of now, the Hanban simply has to throw large sums of money at college and university administrations to coerce compliance.
Past efforts to reign in Confucius Institutes through federal legislation have not been terribly successful. For example, two years ago Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the “Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft Act of 2018 ([link removed][UNIQID]) ” (SHEET). The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, but the Senate took no further action. Other Senators such as Marco Rubio (R-FL) ([link removed][UNIQID]) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) ([link removed][UNIQID]) have taken action against CIs, the results of which are still pending.
Meanwhile, the Senate has passed a new, bipartisan bill on its way to the House: the CONFUCIUS Act (Concerns Over Nations Funding University Campus Institutes in the United States Act) ([link removed][UNIQID]) . The bill was introduced by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) and is cosponsored by Senators Doug Jones (D-AL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). In this week’s featured statement ([link removed][UNIQID]) , NAS breaks down the key provisions of the bill, applauds these Senators for their fine work, and proposes amendments to the bill.
If passed in the House and signed into law, the CONFUCIUS Act would withhold Department of Education grants from colleges and universities with Confucius Institutes unless and until they include “clear provisions” in Hanban contracts that protect academic freedom and turn control of CI hiring and curricula over to the institutions themselves, not China.
These changes would certainly aid in raising the dismal level of transparency within Confucius Institutes today. The Act would also help ensure that students receive an honest education on Chinese history and culture. But the current state of CIs is proof of how slippery the Hanban already is—realistically, what’s to stop the agency from finding a way around any regulations put forward? Indeed, to quote our statement:
We are concerned that the Hanban will engage in legalistic gymnastics to put forward policies that technically hand control back to colleges and universities, while simultaneously setting up funding arrangements and other incentives that effectively force colleges and universities to respect Hanban preferences. ...
Many current contracts include outlandish requirements, such as demanding adherence to Chinese law, that would never hold up in U.S. court if challenged. Their purpose is not really to require colleges and universities to abide by these principles. They have a much more basic purpose: to indicate to colleges and universities what they must do if they wish to maintain favor with the Chinese government.
To truly nip Confucius Institutes in the bud, the federal government must withhold funds from any institution which hosts one. American colleges and universities are capable of providing Chinese language and culture instruction by their own means—many already do. Nevertheless, the CONFUCIUS Act is a great start, and NAS commends Senators Kennedy, Jones, Grassley, and Blackburn for their efforts in protecting our colleges and universities from China’s insidious influence. Let’s see if the House responds in kind.
Until next week.
John David
Communications Associate
National Association of Scholars
Read More ([link removed][UNIQID])
For more on Chinese influence in American higher education:
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June 16, 2020
** New NIH Report Shows Rampant Chinese Funding in American Research ([link removed][UNIQID])
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John David
Nearly 200 scientists are under investigation by the National Institutes of Health—over 90% of them have received funding from the Chinese Communist Party.
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June 04, 2020
** Countering Chinese Soft Power: An Updated Toolkit for Concerned Citizens ([link removed][UNIQID])
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Rachelle Peterson
An updated toolkit for citizens concerned about the presence of Confucius Institutes in the United States. Use this toolkit to send letters to college presidents and your government representatives.
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June 02, 2020
** Questioning Ties to China ([link removed][UNIQID])
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Rachelle Peterson
For years the Chinese government has worked to co-opt American students, scholars, and institutions of higher education. It's high time our government takes action.
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March 18, 2019
** Cracking Down on Illegal Ties to China ([link removed][UNIQID])
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John David
We’re tracking American professors, higher ed administrators, and students who have been charged for crimes surrounding illegal ties to China.
** About the NAS
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