Latitudes: Political pressures and funding threats led to a wave of Confucius Institute closures

Plus, the latest tally of attacks on scholars, students, and academic freedom. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Why colleges closed their Confucius Institutes Political pressures and the potential loss of federal funding led colleges to close their Confucius Institutes, according to a [new report]( from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. And while colleges sought new sources of financial support, many reported reductions in Chinese language, cultural, or educational programming after the Chinese-government-funded centers ceased operating. The report, requested by Congress, tracks the demise of the institutes, 70 of which shut down between 2019 and 2022. Fewer than five remained in operation as of July, the agency, also known as the GAO, noted. At one point, there were some 120 centers in the United States. Seventy-four of the colleges that closed their Confucius Institutes responded to the GAO survey. Forty-five of them, or more than 60 percent, said concerns about jeopardizing federal funding contributed to “a great extent” to their decision. Congress, in [defense-authorization bills]( for the 2019 and 2021 fiscal years, included language that first limited and then barred U.S. Department of Defense funds for research and other programs from going to institutions that host the centers. Another 15 percent of respondents said the potential loss of or ineligibility for defense grants contributed to “some extent” to their closure. In addition, two of three colleges that had Confucius Institutes operating at the time of the GAO study but that were planning to close them cited loss of federal funds as a key factor. The Defense Department has established a [waiver program]( that would allow colleges to receive defense grants and continue operating their Confucius Institutes, provided they put in place certain guardrails to ensure academic freedom and full curricular and managerial control by the American institution. As of May 2023, no college had applied for a waiver to remain eligible for defense funding under the 2021 prohibition, the report found. [Political pressures]( also played a critical part in colleges’ decisions: Forty-four respondents said pressure from the U.S. government or congressional or state representatives contributed to some or a great extent to closures. Several colleges told the GAO that their state governments had introduced or enacted legislation barring Confucius Institutes. Ten colleges said reputational worries had a role in ending agreements to host the centers. The centers have become [political hot potatoes]( in recent years. Elected officials have raised alarms that they are being used for propaganda purposes by the Chinese government and that they could be used to collect intelligence, including proprietary information and intellectual property. The officials have also questioned whether American colleges have sufficient oversight of the centers and whether their presence on campuses could chill academic freedom. While the FBI said it had not found “enough evidence” of criminal activity or malign foreign influence to prioritize Confucius Institutes as a national-security issue, it does have concerns that the Chinese government could use them as a soft-power tool, the report noted. Respondents told the GAO that they had put in place policies prior to the centers’ closures in response to such apprehensions, such as requiring that all Confucius Institute activities comply with college policies on academic freedom, maintaining campus control over curriculum and operations, and protecting access to sensitive research. Most had employed multiple measures, the report said. The scrutiny of Confucius Institutes had led some colleges to increase their oversight over other foreign programs on campus. Still, 80 percent of those surveyed said they were “not at all concerned” about espionage, intellectual-property theft, or other national-security threats tied to their Confucius Institutes. More than half said such fears played no role in closing the centers. Two-thirds said they were not worried about undue Chinese-government influence related to the institutes. The closures have affected their programming, colleges told the GAO. More than half said they had reduced Chinese cultural programs. Thirty respondents had fewer Chinese-language learning resources, 21 said there was a negative impact on Chinese education in local public schools, and 15 reported both. Other learning opportunities, such as study abroad, internships, or scholarships, were also affected. Fourteen colleges said the closures had little impact on their campus or in the broader community. To continue to support Chinese language and cultural programming, colleges turned to a variety of sources, including diverting internal funds and resources or drawing on federal grants for foreign-language instruction, such as the Department of Defense’s Language Flagship program. A number of colleges said Taiwan was helping pay for language courses, cultural events, and academic exchanges. Taiwan has sought to [establish its own Chinese-language centers]( on American campuses. And about 10 percent said they were continuing to work with the Chinese universities that had been their partners in the Confucius Institutes to offer such programming. The Defense Department told the GAO it was in the process of identifying centers that meet the congressional definition of Confucius Institutes even if they are called by another name and will notify any colleges that host them of their ineligibility for federal funds. ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Lawmaker says colleges must be “clear-eyed” about China A congressman who leads a special U.S. committee on China has told college presidents that they must be “clear-eyed” about the threat the Chinese government poses to their institutions. In a [speech]( to the meeting of the Association of American Universities, Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said that China “has exploited the very openness at the heart of American society, and our higher-education system in particular, twisting this strength to the party’s own advantage.” Gallagher called on college leaders to better protect Chinese students on their campuses from [political censorship or surveillance]( and said universities should limit their endowment investments in China. He also said colleges should “rethink” their research collaborations with China, particularly with Chinese scholars or institutions that could have ties to the Chinese military. And he said Congress must better enforce federal requirements that colleges [disclose]( major gifts and contracts from foreign sources, including China. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [College as a Public Good - The Chronicle Store]( [College as a Public Good]( Public confidence in higher education has fallen in recent years, with barely half of Americans seeing it in a positive light. [Order this report today]( to examine the many roles colleges play in their local communities and how institutions are reimagining their outreach to rebuild public trust. Group catalogs threats to academic freedom around the globe Iran’s [crackdown]( on campus anti-government protests. The Taliban’s ban on women going to college in [Afghanistan](. The Nicaraguan government’s [takeover]( of two universities affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. They are among 409 attacks on scholars, students, and their academic institutions in 66 countries and territories over the past year, documented in the latest “[Free to Think]( report by Scholars at Risk. The organization, a worldwide network of institutions and individuals who seek to protect threatened scholars and promote academic freedom, has published a compendium of such incidents annually since 2015. “These attacks occurred in the context of authoritarian entrenchment and democratic backsliding, and governments increasingly used their regulatory power to constrain higher education and limit university autonomy, academic freedom, and free expression on campus,” the group’s executive director, Robert Quinn, said in a letter introducing the report. Among other incidents Scholars at Risk cataloged from July 2022 through June 2023: - Myanmar’s military junta has arrested some 140 students and educators, and armed groups have occupied and attacked university campuses. - Russia has moved away from [liberal education]( requiring all universities and high schools to offer a mandated military-training course and forcing the closure of the Moscow Free University, one of the country’s few autonomous higher-education institutions. Russia is now ranked among the countries with the lowest levels of academic freedom. - In Mexico, the government has centralized science and technology research and education, placing it under presidential oversight. Scholars have also been attacked for their environmental and human-rights work. - And in the United States, [40 bills were introduced in 22 states]( to limit or restrict spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion programming at public colleges. In addition, academic exchange and scientific collaboration between American and Chinese scholars may be diminished because of [ongoing scrutiny]( of ties between the two countries. Around the globe The U.S. Department of State will extend special emergency relief for [Ukrainian students]( on J-1 exchange visas through April 2025, allowing them to carry lighter courseloads and work full- or part-time jobs on or off campus. Public colleges in California have evacuated study-abroad students from [Israel]( because of the safety risk from the war there. Protesters attacked Israeli Arab students barricaded in their dormitories at Netanya Academic College, north of Tel Aviv. City officials [evacuated]( about 50 students from the residence halls. A scholar who studies China’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square has been fired by the Chinese University of Hong Kong after her work visa was [rejected]( by Hong Kong’s increasingly Chinese-controlled government. Hong Kong will double the [quota]( of international and mainland-Chinese students who can enroll in its universities. Some Chinese universities have told students not to organize [memorials]( for former premier Li Keqiang, who died last week, part of an effort to quell social unrest. British universities must diversify their international-student enrollments and do more to globalize the curriculum, a [new report]( says. Elections in Poland have led to greater optimism in academe about [more government support for research]( and fewer restrictions on academic freedom. The Fulbright Program has recognized 46 colleges as leading [Hispanic-serving institutions](. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … Could ChatGPT help international applicants game the American college-admissions process? That’s what an article in Politico is [warning]( saying that foreign applicants could use the artificial-intelligence tool to help them ghost-write admissions essays. The story, which focuses on China, noted that some students had already turned to [shady consultants]( for doctored transcripts and fraudulent personal statements. Essays are one way that colleges can gauge international applicants’ English-language and communication skills. I’m curious to hear from all of you on the international-admissions front lines: Is AI taking over? Tell me what you see at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. I welcome story ideas and feedback. You can also connect with me on [X]( or [LinkedIn](. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. They can [sign up here](. Thanks for reading. 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