Pentagon Designates Confucius Institutes National Security Threat
· World · Al Jazeera, Reuters
The US Department of Defense has designated Confucius Institutes, Chinese-funded cultural centres on university campuses, as a threat to US national security. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the decision on Friday in a social media video. Hegseth stated that the Pentagon added these organisations to its list of institutions threatening national security. He accused the institutes of operating in disguise after congressional restrictions, calling them "sleeper organisations" that steal intellectual property and infiltrate American students' minds. Hegseth claimed that 80 new propaganda cells had emerged across 30 universities under different names and charters. He also said the Pentagon has "systematically dismantled every single one of these organisations" over the past two months.
Why it matters
This designation escalates US efforts to counter perceived Chinese influence in American academia. It could lead to further restrictions or closures of Chinese cultural programmes in US universities.
Read the original report — Al Jazeera
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