The executive board of Alabama A&M University (A&M) voted to close the university’s Confucius Institute, which opened in 2016, after the federal government notified the university that it may lose its eligibility for some federal funding. The state’s Troy University (Troy) received the same notice but said it has not made a decision on whether to close its Confucius Institute.
File photo: Then-Communist Party President Hu Jintao visited the Confucius Institute at a Chicago high school in January 2011.
The Alabama A&M University Executive Committee made the decision to close its Confucius Institute last Saturday, according to the Alabama Media Group. Alabama Republican U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, who has been calling for the closure of the Confucius Institute, applauded the decision and urged Troy University to do the same.
In an April 6 letter to the president of Alabama A&M University, the U.S. deputy secretary of defense said the Defense Department will not provide grants, contracts or other funding to universities that open Confucius Institutes under the relevant provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021.
Last year, the presidents of Alabama A&M University and Troy University praised the work of the Confucius Institutes located on their campuses in response to questions from Rep. Brooks, saying they taught Chinese, promoted cultural awareness and did not have an undue impact.
But Rep. Brooks, in a statement responding to Alabama A&M University’s latest decision, said the Confucius Institute has no place on U.S. campuses.
“The Confucius Institute is nothing more than a propaganda and espionage unit for the Chinese Communist Party,” Brooks said.
State Rep. Tommy Hanes, a Republican, also praised Alabama A&M University’s decision in a statement.
“This is a step toward protecting our freedom and liberty from a communist-dominated world agenda,” he said.
The state Rep. is sponsoring a bill that would ban Alabama’s public universities from opening Confucius Institutes.
Troy University confirmed in a statement Thursday that it received the letter from the Department of Defense.
“The university is currently reviewing this request and has not made a decision on the letter or the Confucius Institute at Troy University at this time,” the statement said. It mentioned that the implementation date for the DoD ban on federal funding is Oct. 1, 2023.
The university’s Confucius Institute opened in 2007.
In recent years, Confucius Institutes funded by the Communist government to promote Chinese culture and language have been increasingly seen as part of the Communist Party’s efforts to expand its influence abroad. Critics have argued that the Confucius Institute operates opaquely and censors some sensitive topics, thus affecting academic and free speech on U.S. campuses. The U.S. Department of State characterized the Confucius Institute USA Center as a foreign mission of the Chinese government in August 2020.
A growing number of U.S. universities are now cutting ties with Confucius Institutes. The Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland, the first Confucius Institute opened by China on a U.S. college campus in 2004, was closed last year. According to the Associated Press, more than 60 U.S. universities still have Confucius Institutes.
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