Under pressure from congressional Republicans, the Pentagon has restricted federal aid to colleges with Confucius Institute (CI) outposts, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The Department of Defense announced its decision to Congress in an Aug. 15 letter, according to the Free Beacon. The move comes after congressional Republicans, including Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), led the investigation into a Pentagon waiver policy that would have allowed federal funding of colleges that have outposts like CIs on campus.
CIs were first introduced to the United States in 2004. Many colleges and universities established them as cultural centers to teach American college students the Chinese language and culture, according to Lee Edwards, Ph.D., at the Heritage Foundation. Edwards says these institutes are directly funded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and directed according to the Chinese government's wishes to paint China and its political motivations in a positive light. Edwards calls the CIs "instruments of propaganda."
The CCP allegedly uses CIs both to peddle influence and steal intellectual property, the Free Beacon news report said.
There are currently 10 active CIs at American universities, with 111 already shut down or in the process of closing, according to the National Association of Scholars.
In 2021, Congress prohibited the Pentagon from granting research projects to U.S. colleges hosting CIs due to concerns about potential espionage by the CCP, the Free Beacon article said. The Justice Department has cautioned about vulnerability to CCP espionage in around 60 leading colleges, the article said.
To sidestep the congressional ban, the Pentagon introduced a waiver program. However, under Republican pressure, it has agreed to close loopholes that could enable CI personnel to access sensitive Defense Department research details, the Free Beacon reported. To date, no U.S. school has applied for a waiver, although future applications remain possible, the news report said.
Banks wrote to the Pentagon on April 21, saying it was "bowing to the wishes of academia and the scientific community to continue their deep ties with China, despite the growing threat of CCP propaganda and espionage."
"I'm glad that the Biden administration has agreed to close its multiple loopholes that leave universities vulnerable to Communist Party espionage. However, regardless of any DOD guidance, the final NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) must eliminate DOD's Confucius Institute waivers entirely. Universities that cozy up to the Chinese Communist Party shouldn't be involved in defense research, period," Banks told Federal Newswire after receiving the Pentagon's Aug. 15 letter.
