Ns News Online Desk: The US has designated the Confucius Institute (CI), the Chinese government-run global education program me, as a foreign propaganda mission. The order says CI, which offers language and cultural program mes overseas, is “owned or effectively controlled” by a foreign government.
Staff will be required to register and adhere to restrictions similar to those placed on diplomatic embassies.
It comes amid worsening relations between China and the US.
In a statement announcing the move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the Confucius Institute “an entity advancing Beijing’s global propaganda and malign influence campaign” on American classrooms and campuses.
“The United States wants to ensure that students on US campuses have access to Chinese language and cultural offerings free from the manipulation of the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies,” Mr Pompeo continued, adding that the move was made to better inform educators.
China criticized the US measure as “demonizing and stigmatizing the normal operation of China-US co-operation projects”. “We urge the US to stop politicizing educational exchange programs, stop interfering with normal people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and stop undermining China-US mutual trust and co-operation,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
