U of North Florida Latest to Cut Ties with Confucius Institute

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…

One Threat to Academic Freedom Leads to Another

BY HANK REICHMAN In June 2014 the AAUP’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure issued a report, “On Partnerships with Foreign Governments: The Case of Confucius Institutes.”  That report warned that Confucius Institutes, then established at some 90 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, may “function as an arm of the Chinese…

What are Confucius Institutes?

In recent years a growing number of American universities have opened Confucius Institutes as part of their programs in East Asian studies.  Confucius Institutes are non-profit institutions that aim to promote Chinese language and culture and the teaching of the Chinese language, and which facilitate cultural exchanges.  But the Confucius Institutes differ from the British…