US Defense Department Designates Confucius Institutes a National Security Threat
- The US Defense Department designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on university campuses known as Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on...
- Hegseth stated that the Defense Department systematically dismantled 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities over the preceding two months.
- The Pentagon action marks the latest escalation in a multi-agency campaign by Washington against the centers.
The US Defense Department designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on university campuses known as Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday. Hegseth announced the decision in a social media video, stating that the Pentagon added the centers to its list of threatening institutions because they operated under disguise at American universities.
Pentagon Dismantles Eighty Hidden Propaganda Cells Across Thirty Universities
Hegseth stated that the Defense Department systematically dismantled 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities over the preceding two months. Hegseth alleged that these organizations used different names and charters to carry out their mission. It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students,
Hegseth said.
The US Defense Department has designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on university campuses known as Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday. https://t.co/x3PrtYkSpj
Federal Scrutiny Escalates Following Decades of Academic Warnings
The Pentagon action marks the latest escalation in a multi-agency campaign by Washington against the centers. Federal momentum accelerated on August 13, 2020, when the US Department of State designated the Washington, D.C.-based Confucius Institute US Center as a foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China. State Department findings indicated that the institutes were financed by the Office of Chinese Language Council International and operated under the oversight of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department. Academic bodies raised early flags, as the American Association of University Professors warned in 2014 that the institutes compromised higher education integrity. Additional studies, including a 2017 National Association of Scholars report and a 2018 incident at Savannah State University where a speaker’s reference to Taiwan was deleted, fueled ongoing concerns over self-censorship and curriculum control.
Chinese Embassy Response Remains Unanswered
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the national security designation and the dismantling of the campus organizations.
