Congressman August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence Subcommittee, argued that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in addition to spying and surveilling, is attempting to influence American college campuses through Chinese cultural centers, commonly known as Confucius Institutes.
According to a press release from the Committee on Homeland Security, after a hearing by the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence about the dangers posed by the CCP to the U.S., the House Committee on Homeland Security's Republicans have begun taking steps to counter the CCP's negative impact on American innovation and national security intelligence.
“The House Homeland Security Committee is taking the threat China poses to our Nation extremely seriously,” Pfluger said. “In addition to surveillance through our skies, ports and in our cell phones, the CCP is infiltrating American university campuses with “Confucius Institutes,” which allow the party to engage in espionage, steal our intellectual property, intimidate Chinese dissidents, promote communist propaganda and funnel information back to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Under no circumstances should American taxpayer dollars be used to enrich the CCP or the PLA. Congress must ensure taxpayer dollars are cut off from these programs for good.”
Pfluger has reintroduced the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act. According to the press release, this act aims to stop American universities that host a Confucius Institute or are connected to a Chinese entity of concern from receiving taxpayer funds from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
According to Lee Edwards, Ph.D, at the Heritage Foundation, Confucius Institutes were first introduced to the U.S. in 2004, where many colleges and universities established them as cultural centers to teach American college students the Chinese language and culture. Edwards said these institutes are directly funded by the CCP and directed according to the Chinese government's wishes, to paint China and its political motivations in a good way. Edwards calls the Confucius Institutes "instruments of propaganda." Teachers at the Confucius Institutes are instructed to avoid certain topics in Chinese history, such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the Cultural Revolution.
A National Association of Scholars (NAS) Report found that 106 Confucius Institutes are closed or in the process of being closed, but continue to maintain a relationship with their former institute and although under another name, act very similar. Updated in September of 2022, NAS confirmed 15 Confucius Institutes remain in the U.S., with one at Stanford University in California. The rebranding of the Confucius Institutes became the Chinese International Education Fund, formerly known as Hanban, which NAS says continues to allow the Chinese government and CCP to influence American higher education.
