Chinese Communist Party Uses Confucius Institute to Infiltrate Western Society, Report Says

As a part of its “Strategic United Front” campaign, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the Confucius Institute to infiltrate Western society with communist ideology under the guise of “learning Chinese language,” says WOIPFG (World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong) in a report released on May 1st, 2014.

The report reached the above conclusion by analyzing Confucius Institutes' overall teaching guidance, funding, investment, organizational structure and activities inside and outside China.

By 2013, 440 Confucius Institutes were established in 120 countries and regions. In addition, 646 Confucius classrooms are also operational at middle and elementary schools, according to the institute’s web site. These institutes and classrooms claim registrations as many as 850,000.

Confucianism, one of the cornerstones of traditional Chinese culture, has been harshly denounced by the CCP over the past several decades, especially during the Cultural Revolution. However, the regime launched a large number of Confucius Institutes in many countries in recent years. The WOIPFG report identifies this as another wave of communist infiltration, with a different packaging.

Higher education professionals in the United States and Canada have taken notice and expressed concern.

At the end of April, over 100 faculty members including 7 department deans from the University of Chicago co-signed a letter to the university officials, requesting to revoke its contract with Hanban, the Office of Chinese Language Council International, the supervising organization of the Confucius Institute.

The letter states: “The substantive issue is this is really an anomalous sort of arrangement where an entity outside the university, and a powerful entity, and an entity that has strong interest in what’s taught, is in effect seriously influencing who’s teaching and what’s taught under our name and inside our curriculum.”

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) passed a resolution in December 2013 to end all ties with Confucius Institutes due to its strong influence by the CCP.

James Turk, Executive Director of CAUT, said, “Confucius Institutes are essentially political arms of the Chinese government.” “Simply put, Confucius Institutes are owned and operated by an authoritarian government and beholden to its politics.”

“In agreeing to host Confucius Institutes, Canadian universities and colleges are compromising their own integrity by allowing the Chinese Language Council International to have a voice in a number of academic matters, such as curriculum, texts, and topics of class discussion,” explained Turk. “Such interference is a fundamental violation of academic freedom.”