The U.S. state department has required Confucius Institutes in the U.S. to be accredited. They have been improperly using visiting scholars to teach kindergarten to grade 12 language classes. Confucius Institutes are a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's overseas propaganda efforts.
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The U.S. state department issued a directive earlier this month, requiring universities that host Confucius Institutes to separate kindergarten to grade 12 education from post secondary education.
Confucius Institutes are now required to be accredited. The guidance document said, "The Department is reviewing the academic viability of the Confucius Institutes."
Further, all teachers who have the visa status of a visiting professor or research scholar will no longer be permitted to teach kindergarten to grade 12 classes.
[Guidance Directive]: "Teaching primary and secondary school students in public school systems or private schools is not permitted by professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, or college/university students."
Confucius Institutes, headquartered in Beijing and with over 300 branches worldwide, are publicized as promoting Chinese language and culture while fostering educational and cultural exchange with China. There are 60 institutes in the U.S. Universities are attracted to the institutes by the offer of free teaching staff supplied by Beijing, and in some cases, kickbacks from the regime.
The Institutes are a key part of Communist China's overseas propaganda apparatus. They have the primary aim of influencing how China is portrayed in western media.
Li Changchun, the fifth highest-ranking member of the Communist party in China, and one of the nine men on the Politburo who run China, said the institutes "an important part of China’s overseas propaganda setup.”
