China is not closed and secretly living like North Korea, but due to expansionist thinking, many of its institutions were often under suspicion. Confucius Institutes (CIS) topped them. Opened in the name of China’s philosopher, these institutes talk about teaching the culture and language of their country, but they are often accused of depositing sensitive information.
After many countries, recently, many universities in Australia also closed such institutions. Action has already been taken in America. But what happened, and what do we know about these institutions?
What happened in Australia
According to a BBC report, a total of 6 Australian universities closed their ongoing Confucius institutions. These include large universities like Melbourne, Queensland and New South Wales. About half the institutions running in this country have been closed. The interesting thing is that universities blamed the obstacles that occurred at the time of Kovid for this. At the same time, some time ago the Australian government banned the opening of the new CI.
Ban on what basis
The government expressed apprehension that these institutions may be in danger of national security and foreign intervention. In the year 2019, the then Education Minister of the country Dan Tehan had said that the government is looking for ways to control foreign impacts in universities, in which there will also be a review of Confucius Institutes. In addition, the Australian intelligence organization (ASIO) also spoke on the possible threats of foreign intervention. On the basis of these, the government banned the opening of new institutes.
Many countries have closed Confucius Institute
In the year 2020, Sweden closed all his CI and Confucius classes. This was the first European country whose direct action was taken.
– For the first time action was taken in France in 2013, after which many institutions were closed here.
– Many Canadian universities have also closed their CIs, but they are not mentioned anywhere.
– During the first term of Trump, there were such institutes in more than a hundred colleges, but then they started being locked. The US government itself described these institutions as suspicious. After this, about 80 institutions were closed. Now they do not get firm data of their number.
– Some universities in India also partnered with CIS, but amid alleged espionage allegations, the UGC directed in April 2022 that any college or universities would have to give complete information about foreign funding before joining the Confucius Institute.
– Britain had threatened to close the institute, accusing the Confucius Institute of spreading spies under the guise of teaching Chinese language.
Who was Confucius in whose name the institute was formed
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher. Born in 550 BC, Confucius spoke of education to end the evils of the then Chinese society. In his memory, the concept of this institute came in China. This brain child of China’s government organization Henben opened for the first time in Seoul, South Korea in 2004. Henben comes under the Ministry of Chinese Education. Henben was later renamed the Center for Language Exchange and Cooperation. A non-profit organization was formed under this banner, which is now working for the Confucius Institutes.
Within a few years, this institute spread to about 160 countries. About 10 million foreign students started learning Chinese language. This is a very large number, on which China is investing money openly. According to the news of the diplomat, at some time, the most institutes in America used to be closed in Trump’s first term.
What is taught
According to The Conversion report, they not only teach Chinese language and culture, but also train students to train, Chinese cooking and Chinese martial arts. Students can also visit China if they want.
CI works in a special way
He makes contact to renowned universities and also requests to include China’s languages in his foreign language syllabus. In return, he does big funding in the name of college building, teachers and other needs. Teachers there are often of his will, or are those who like the ideology of China.
Why the dispute continues
These institutes have been the center of disputes for a long time. A report of ABC a total year ago revealed that the first condition of teaching in these Confucius Institutes is that the teaching has a good political understanding and loves Motherland i.e. China. In the Firstpost, Australian professor John Fitzgerald was quoted as saying that good political understanding means, considering the politics of the Communist Party as its own and not having any opinion apart from it. By the way, let me tell you that there are only allegations of espionage or foreign intervention, so far no firm evidence of this was found.
Governments also believe that the same ideology is being strengthened here, so that students become far away from their country and close to China. Due to these concerns, many countries reviewed the work of the CI and decided to close them or limit the number.