POSTED BY MARTIN KICH

Reuters reports that the University of North Florida in Jacksonville has announced that “it had determined after ‘careful consideration’ that the Confucius Institute, which opened a branch there in 2014 to promote language and culture, did not meet the university’s mission”: “‘After reviewing the classes, activities and events sponsored over the past four years and comparing them with the mission and goals of the university, it was determined that they weren’t aligned.’ . . . The Institute [will] be closed in February, fulfilling a legal obligation to provide six months’ notice for ending the contract.”

The article indicates that “China’s Foreign Ministry has in the past said the Institute is aimed at increasing mutual understanding, and it has urged anyone suspicious of its programs to abandon their ‘outmoded ideas.’”

Florida Senator Marco Rubio and other legislators “have pursued legislation that would require universities to disclose major gifts from foreign sources.”

In addition, the article notes that “several other universities in Florida still host the Confucius Institute, among more than 100 such centers around the United States,” while “other major U.S. colleges, including Pennsylvania State University and the University of Chicago, have cut ties with the institute after professors complained its programs were Chinese propaganda wrapped in culture and language education.”

The complete article is available at: reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-education/florida-university-latest-to-cut-ties-with-chinas-confucius-institute-idUSKBN1L012Z.