If signed into law, the regulations will not go nearly far enough

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CounterCurrent: NDAA 2021 Plays Softball with Confucius Institutes
If signed into law, the regulations
will not go nearly far enough

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: ~2 minutes
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** Featured Article - Dems Water Down China Provisions in Defense Bill by Yuichiro Kakutani ([link removed][UNIQID])
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The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 ([link removed][UNIQID]) is now in the president’s hands. This catch-all bill covers everything from missile defense systems to aircraft management regulations. Here you’re asking, “But David, what does this have to do with higher education?”

This year’s NDAA also includes new provisions pertaining to Confucius Institutes (CIs), the Chinese government-run “language and culture centers” that have, by the NAS and others, been shown to really serve as CCP propaganda and spying hubs ([link removed][UNIQID]) on American college and university campuses.

Buried in the miscellaneous “Other Matters” section of the NDAA, the proposed restrictions on CIs read as follows:

An institution of higher education or other postsecondary educational institution (referred to in this section as an institution) shall not be eligible to receive Federal funds from the Department of Education (except funds under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 ([link removed][UNIQID]) et seq.) or other Department of Education funds that are provided directly to students) unless the institution ensures that any contract or agreement between the institution and a Confucius Institute includes clear provisions that—

(1) protect academic freedom at the institution;

(2) prohibit the application of any foreign law on any campus of the institution; and

(3) grant full managerial authority of the Confucius Institute to the institution, including full control over what is being taught, the activities carried out, the research grants that are made, and who is employed at the Confucius Institute.


This is not the first time a defense spending bill has placed restrictions on Confucius Institutes. In the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2019 ([link removed][UNIQID]) , Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a key amendment stating that CI-provided Chinese language instruction may not be funded by NDAA monies. That was a good start and helped ensure that taxpayer dollars did not go directly toward CCP propaganda efforts, but it didn’t do much to affect CIs in and of themselves. The CCP has more than enough money to fully fund the Institutes on its own.

In this week’s featured article ([link removed][UNIQID]) , Yuichiro Kakutani of The Washington Free Beacon explains how, while the NDAA’s CI restrictions are beneficial, they do not nearly go far enough and represent an emaciated form of the measures originally proposed. He writes,

The Senate's National Defense Authorization Act included a provision that authorized the Department of Education to withhold funding from U.S. universities that host Chinese government-backed Confucius Institutes on campus. House Democrats removed the measure from the final version of the bill following negotiations. Louisiana senator John Kennedy (R.), who helped write the anti-Confucius Institute measure, said Democrats led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) had "gutted" a key weapon to counter Chinese influence in academia. [emphasis added]


NAS’s own Rachelle Peterson is cited, saying “‘It's disappointing to see at least some lawmakers fall for the farce that Chinese government-backed Confucius Institutes are a risk to be managed, not eliminated,’ Peterson said. ‘Still, I'm glad to see that Confucius Institutes remain on lawmakers' minds.’”

The CCP has always found a way to sidestep Confucius Institute regulations, and as long as CIs are extant, they will continue to do so, within or without the bounds of the law. The only true and lasting solution is to ban Confucius Institutes outright, as one local legislator has already proposed ([link removed][UNIQID]) . Anything short of this will simply tie existing CIs in more and more red tape, perhaps helping in the short-term but ultimately kicking lasting change down the road.

Until next week.

David Acevedo
Communications & Research Associate
National Association of Scholars

P.S. You may be wondering who this “David Acevedo” is who is now writing to you. I and John David are one and the same, and I’ve chosen to write under this pseudonym no longer. If you'd like to learn more as to why I wrote pseudonymously, click here ([link removed][UNIQID]) .
Read More ([link removed][UNIQID])
For more on Confucius Institutes and American higher ed:
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November 20, 2020


** U.S. Education Reform is Necessary for International Security ([link removed][UNIQID])
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John David

The State Department has released a new report titled "The Elements of the China Challenge," which examines the global threats posed by the CCP and sets forth goals to counteract it.

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October 13, 2020


** ED and DOS Issue Urgent Warning About Chinese Influence in American Schools ([link removed][UNIQID])
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National Association of Scholars

NAS commends the Education and State Depts. for issuing two joint letters urging American education leaders to investigate possible Chinese government influence in their schools.

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August 24, 2020


** An Important Step in the Fight to Ban Chinese Confucius Institutes ([link removed][UNIQID])
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Rachelle Peterson

Alabama state representative Tommy Hanes has unveiled a draft proposal to ban Confucius Institutes outright, a model we encourage legislators in the rest of the U.S. to follow.

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August 03, 2018


** Defense Bill Limits Funding for Colleges with Confucius Institutes ([link removed][UNIQID])
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National Association of Scholars

An amendment by Senator Ted Cruz to the NDAA targets Department of Defense funding for colleges hosting Confucius Instiutes.


** About the NAS
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The National Association of Scholars, founded in 1987, emboldens reasoned scholarship and propels civil debate. We’re the leading organization of scholars and citizens committed to higher education as the catalyst of American freedom.

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