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1 [1] (March 18, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecsu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inferrning the l gisliv. debate since 1914 Updated March 18, 2021 Confucius Institutes in the United States: Selected Issues The People's Republic of China (PRC)'s Confucius Institutes, which offer Chinese language instruction in universities around the world, have been the subject of controversy since appearing on U.S. campuses in 2005, particularly for their perceived effects on academic freedom and lack of transparency. They have attracted further attention in recent years as the broader U.S.-China relationship has deteriorated. Some Members of Congress and others have alleged that they may play a role in China's efforts to influence public opinion abroad, recruit influence agents on U.S. campuses, and engage in cyber espionage and intellectual property theft. PRC officials and scholars deny such charges, and suggest that the Institutes have become victims of a U.S. Cold War mentality. Supporters of the Institutes emphasize that they provide Chinese language and cultural programs that benefit students, universities, and surrounding communities and that may not otherwise be available. Developments in 2019-2020 A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2019 (P.L. 115-232, Section 1091) prohibits the use of Department of Defense (DOD) funds for Chinese language instruction provided by a Confucius Institute or to support a Chinese language program at an institution of higher education that hosts a Confucius Institute. In August 2020, the Trump Administration designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS), whose purpose is to oversee Confucius Institutes in the United States, as a foreign mission of the PRC. The designation requires CIUS to regularly file information about its operations with the Department of State. CIUS is a PRC-funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit entity based in Washington, DC. On December 31, 2020, the Trump Administration issued a proposed rule entitled Establishing Requirement for Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certified Schools to Disclose Agreements with Confucius Institutes and Classrooms. The draft rule reportedly did not complete the Office of Management and Budget review process by the end of the Trump Administration term. In February 2021, leading House Republicans sent President Biden a letter urging him to resubmit the proposal. In 2020, the PRC government renamed the parent organization of the Confucius Institutes, the Chinese Language Council International (commonly referred to as Hanban), as the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. As part of the change, the Chinese International Education Foundation, a Ministry of Education-sponsored, nongovernmental charitable organization comprised of universities and corporations, was formed to provide funding to the Institutes. History and Mission The first Confucius Institute opened in 2004 in Seoul, South Korea, followed by one at the University of Maryland (which closed in 2020). The Institutes, which operate in over 160 countries, are patterned after other national language and cultural programs, such as France's Alliance Francaise, Germany's Goethe Institute, the U.K.'s British Council, and Spain's Instituto Cervantes, with some differences. Confucius Institutes exercise less autonomy from their home government than their European counterparts, and are situated within foreign educational institutions, while their foreign counterparts are not. In addition to providing Chinese language instruction, according to analysts, Confucius Institutes appear designed to help improve China's international image or reduce what Chinese officials view as misconceptions about China. Nearly all Confucius Institutes focus on Chinese language instruction at the introductory level. U.S. Confucius Institutes generally offer noncredit courses to the public for a fee. In a minority of cases, they offer classes to enrolled students for credit, or Institute instructors teach credit courses in academic departments. The Institutes often work with university departments to co-sponsor Chinese cultural events, academic seminars, and conferences focused on doing business in China. They also sponsor programs for U.S. students and scholars to study Chinese language in the PRC, and they serve as platforms for academic collaboration between U.S. and Chinese universities. Confucius Institutes in the United States The number of Confucius Institutes in the United States grew to roughly 100 by 2019, mostly on university campuses, out of nearly 550 worldwide. Hanban spent over https://crsr

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