Dharamshala, 3rd November: According to campusreform.org, The University of Akron stated in a university-wide email on Monday, Nov. 8, that the Confucius Institute will close in June 2022. The decision brings the Institute’s 13-year affiliation with Henan University, a public university in Kaifeng, China, to an end.
The Ohio school will now be in conformity with the National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress passed in 2021. Universities that continue to work with Confucius Institutes would be denied access to Department of Defense research money under the NDAA. Many universities, including the University of Akron, have closed their Confucius Institutes as a result of the decision. At the start of 2021, there were 56 Confucius Institutes in the United States. Since the map’s first release in March, 14 companies have shut down, with more promising to do so by the end of the year.
According to a 2018 Politico report, former Chinese government official and propaganda minister Liu Yushan admitted that Confucius Institutes are used by the Chinese government to “actively carry out international propaganda battles against issues such as Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan, human rights, and Falun gong.”
While the statement surprised many students, Alex Mortensen, President of Turning Point USA at the University of Akron, told Campus Reform that it was a welcome decision. As the benefits of the programs contrast with escalating negative connotations, the presence of Confucius Institutes on college campuses has grown increasingly contentious. Mortensen told Campus Reform that he also expects that an investigation into the extent of Chinese influence and even spying on campus would be launched.
While Confucius Institutes are billed as providing students with the opportunity to learn about and engage with another culture, the fact that they are funded by the Chinese government has raised concerns about academic security and potential Chinese espionage, prompting universities to withdraw from the program.
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