Some 81 colleges and universities in the United States have institutes with close ties to China's communist government that attempt to stifle free speech and promote Chinese propaganda within American higher education.
Known as "Confucius Institutes," these institutions receive funding and oversight primarily from the Hanban, located in Beijing and affiliated with the People's Republic of China (PRC).
There are numerous examples of communist Chinese officials putting pressure on American universities that host Confucius Institutes to avoid making statements or holding events on topics they deem politically sensitive. Even more, Chinese teachers at these institutes sign contracts with the Chinese government pledging to not damage the communist government's national interests.
All of this is to say, Chinese officials are actively assaulting free speech on American soil though our colleges and universities. The United States government has a duty to conduct oversight of foreign programs to protect our students from undue foreign propaganda. We must act to ensure that China, or any foreign government, is not interfering on American soil.
I authored legislation -- H.R. 7138, The Transparency for Confucius Institutes Act-- to require program participation agreements between the Hanban and American institutions that host Confucius Institutes on their campuses to address the ways China experts undue influence, including:
● Clearly delineating between the Confucius Institutes' programs and their own Chinese language programs;
● Locating an institute apart from these departments;
● Removing the Chinese assistant director position from institutes;
● Removing the confidentiality section of agreements;
● Making the agreements publicly available online;
● Including stronger language in the agreements to make it clearer that the U.S. school has executive decision-making authority.
My bill is the house companion to Sen. Marsha Blackburn's "Transparency for Confucius Institute Act." I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to get this bill across the finish line.
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Robert Donachie | Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) 1319 Longworth House Office Building | Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-4236 | (202) 225-8628 (f)