U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the possibility that all Beijing-funded Confucius Institutes (CI) on U.S. college campuses would be forced to shut down by the end of the year.
He added: “I think these institutions can see that and I’m hopeful we will get them all closed out before the end of this year.”
A foreign mission is defined as an entity “substantially owned or effectively controlled” by a foreign government and according to federal rules, are subjected to certain administrative requirements that are applied to foreign embassies and consulates in the United States.
The Senate investigation also found that Chinese teachers working at CIs could see their contracts terminated if they “violate Chinese law” or “engage in activities detrimental to [China’s] national interests.”
Among the colleges scheduled to close down their CIs are: Community College of Denver (scheduled to close on Sept. 30), University of Oklahoma (October 2020), University of North Carolina Charlotte (December 2020), and Emory University (November 2021), according to NAS.
The Chinese regime reacted angrily to the State Department’s previous designation. On Aug. 14, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, in a daily briefing, accused Pompeo of “oppress[ing] the Confucius Institutes under unfounded pretexts.”
China’s hawkish Global Times, in an article published on Aug. 14, painted CIs as “victims of Pompeo’s political scheme.” It also attacked Pompeo, accusing him of being “the destroyer of international rules and world stability.”
Several U.S. lawmakers had applauded the foreign mission designation.
Also speaking to Fox on Tuesday, Pompeo said the U.S. government will soon take certain action to address China’s theft of U.S. intellectual property developed at universities.
“In the coming days and weeks...you’ll see the United States confront this in a very serious way....students that are studying here in the United States that are part of this network,” he said.
Referring to the Chinese students, Pompeo elaborated: “They aren’t all spies, but many of them are being watched, their families back home are being watched, and these are efforts for the Chinese government—the Chinese Communist Party in particular—to identify those that might ultimately work on their behalf.”