Many countries tighten grip on Confucius Institutes over CCP links

Washington [US], February 7 (ANI): Nearly a dozen countries, including the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, have begun to further tighten the grip on Confucius Institutes and other related activities over the dubious nature of the Chinese organizations.
Confucius Institutes are public educational partnerships between colleges and universities in China and colleges and universities in other countries. The controversial Chinese government-funded institutions have been accused of being a propaganda arm for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In recent years, the closure of Confucius Institutes in various countries has progressed rapidly as these organizations are deemed as China's ideological marketing machine.
A recent report on "China's Influence Actions" released by a military institute, under the French Defence Ministry, pointed out that the Chinese government has been promoting United Front tactics overseas and promoting its ideology through Confucius Institutes.
The United Front is a political strategy of the CCP involving networks of groups and key individuals that are influenced or controlled by the CCP and used to advance its interests.
The report elaborated on the CCP's "vicious behavior" in recent years to expand its global influence by infiltrating overseas Chinese communities, media, diplomacy, economy, politics, education, culture, and think tanks.
Since 2004, the Chinese government has sponsored Confucius Institutes on college and university campuses around the world, providing teachers, textbooks, and operating funds. Until recently, an agency of the Chinese Ministry of Education, the Hanban, oversaw Confucius Institutes.
In the wake of widespread criticism, the Chinese government has reorganized Confucius Institutes under a new organization, the Chinese International Education Foundation.
In April 2017, the National Association of Scholars (NSA) released Outsourced to China: Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education, a comprehensive report on the way the Chinese government infiltrates American colleges and universities to enhance its image. "At that time, we counted 103 Confucius Institutes in the United States," the NSA said.
As of January 18, 2022, NAS counts a total of 24 Confucius Institutes in the United States. This includes four that are scheduled to close: Valparaiso University (March 1, 2022), the University of Akron (June 30, 2022), Bryant University (date unclear), and Alabama A&M University (date unclear). It also includes one, St. Cloud State University, that is "paused" while the university conducts a review.
Several colleges and universities have deactivated their Confucius Institute websites, though other evidence suggests these Confucius Institutes may still be open. Several reports suggest that nearly 100 Confucius Institutes in the US have closed or are in the process of closing, along with the stated reason for the closure.
Since 2004, the Chinese government has gradually established Confucius Institutes overseas. As of December 2019, it has established 550 Confucius Institutes and more than 1,000 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools in 162 countries or regions around the world. (ANI)