Save Uyghur Commends the Confucius Act

SaveUyghur commends bipartisan congressional efforts to ensure the academic freedom of American institutions of higher education through the Concerns Over Nations Funding University Campus Institutes in the United States Act (CONFUCIUS Act). The act would limit the impact the Chinese Communist Party could have on the academic discourse at American universities, and would address concerns that contractual arrangements stipulated by Confucius Institutes undermine academic integrity at their host institutions.

The Confucius Act restricts the influence the CCP can wield on American universities by limiting the authority the Chinese Ministry of Education has over the curriculum of Confucius Institutes at American universities. Confucius Institutes disperse Chinese government propaganda, restrict academic freedom, and ensnare colleges and universities in financial relationships with the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban).

The Confucius Act prevents colleges and universities with Confucius Institutes from becoming eligible for Department of Education grants unless their policies with the Hanban include “clear provisions” that:

“(1) protect academic freedom at the institution;

(2) prohibit the application of any foreign law on any campus of the institution; and

(3) grant full managerial authority of the Confucius Institute to the institution, including full control over what is being taught, the activities carried out, the research grants that are made, and who is employed at the Confucius Institute.”

The implementation of the Confucius Act will ensure the continued integrity of American institutions of higher education.