[4] However, unlike the Alliance française or Goethe-Institut, many Confucius Institutes operate directly on university campuses, thus giving rise to unique concerns related to academic freedom and political influence,[5] however, after a year long investigation into the Confucius Institutes in the United States, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in February 2019 that was unable to find any evidence of any widespread attempts to restrict academic freedom with people directly involved in the programs stating there had been no attempts to interfere with their curriculum, although the concern still remains.
[5][7] The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and is financed by the quasi-governmental Office of Chinese Language Council International (colloquially, Hanban), which is chaired by Politburo member and Vice Premier Liu Yandong, former head of the United Front Work Department.
[12] In evidence of the "spectacular proliferation" of CIs, Lionel Jensen notes they have become so familiar in the United States a segment of The Daily Show made a parody out of a community group's opposition to the CI teaching Mandarin in a public school.
[33] According to Fabrice de Pierrebourg [fr] and Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a number of individuals holding positions within the Confucius Institute system have backgrounds in Chinese security agencies and United Front Work Department, "which manages important dossiers concerning foreign countries.
"[35] In an interview on CBC Television, Richard Fadden, director of the CSIS, said that while China was funding Confucius Institutes in most of the campuses across Canada, they were "managed by people operating out of the embassy or consulates" who had organized "demonstrations to deal with what are called the five poisons: Taiwan, Falun Gong and others".
[36] Stockholm's Institute for Security and Development Policy described the founding of CIs as "an image management project, the purpose of which is to promote the greatness of Chinese culture while at the same time counterattacking public opinion which maintains the presence of a 'China threat' in the international community.
"[37] Although the number of Indian students taking Chinese language courses is on the increase, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected the idea of establishing Confucius Institutes in schools, as they were "using culture to spread propaganda and influence.
"[46] Confucius Institutes are frequently compared to cultural associations such as the UK's British Council,[47] Germany's Goethe-Institut,[4] France's Alliance Française, Italy's Società Dante Alighieri, and Spain's Instituto Cervantes.
[48][49] For instance, an editorial in the state-owned China Daily newspaper accused CI opponents of double standards for not calling "Goethe-Institut, Alliance Française or Cervantes Institutes propaganda vehicles or tools of cultural invasion".
"[54] On the other hand, The Sydney Morning Herald cites a Queensland University of Technology student that "It would be best to understand [Confucius institutes] not as 'propaganda tools' but as 'one instrument of China's cultural diplomacy to wield and bolster Chinese soft power globally'".
The sizeable grants coming with the establishment of Confucius Institutes could make universities more susceptible to pressures from Beijing to exercise self-censorship, particularly on Chinese human rights issues or other politically sensitive topics.
[82] A 2012 article in The Atlantic questions whether China has squandered the soft-power money spent on CIs and expensive CCTV-4 America studios when wealthy Chinese are seeking exit visas to the US; asking, "What good are Confucius Institutes … when many of your country's elites are voting with their feet and hedging against domestic unpredictability?
"[93] Jonathan Zimmerman critically framed the question of Confucius Institutes and academic freedom, "Let's suppose that a cruel, tyrannical, and repressive foreign government offered to pay for American teens to study its national language in our schools.
[3] In writing for The Christian Science Monitor, Jonathan Zimmerman, a historian at New York University, warned that Confucius Institutes resemble the 1930s "Mussolini model" of financing Italian language schools in America for Fascist propaganda purposes.
[98] In late October 2013, Marshall Sahlins, a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, published the article "China U: Confucius Institutes censor political discussions and restrain the free exchange of ideas.
[92] On 28 March 2012, the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on "The Price of Public Diplomacy with China," focusing upon Chinese propaganda efforts in the U.S., including Confucius Institutes on university campuses.
Historian Bruce Cumings, who signed the petition, noted that China had recently fired prominent faculty members for their political views, and warned, "American universities should not be taking money or institute funds from governments that are jailing professors and that do not provide academic freedom in their own country.
"[131] Anthony C. Yu, a professor emeritus of Chinese, recalled speaking at a large gathering of CI teachers employed on American campuses, and finding most weren't trained language instructors and only a few were fluent in English.
[133] On 25 September 2014, the University of Chicago stated that they had suspended negotiations to renew its CI contract because "recently published comments about UChicago in an article about the director-general of Hanban are incompatible with a continued equal partnership.
Bruce Lincoln, Professor of the History of Religions at Chicago, summarized the lengthy negotiations; the university administrators "accurately represented the institution's core values" when they argued against having a CI on campus, while the Chinese officials were "heavy-handed, condescending, and difficult.
"[136] Marshall Sahlins, an emeritus professor who helped lead the fight against the CI, said the newspaper article "fulsomely" praised Xu Lin,[137] and told The Wall Street Journal, "They knew that this was a dubious operation to begin with.
"[138] Gary Rawnsley, a British expert on international communication, said that Xu Lin could not have picked a worse time "to assert her imaginary authority", and the Business Spectator concluded this hardline behavior highlights one of the biggest problems for Beijing's charm offensive.
[165] Senior Department of Education officials acknowledge the institutes play an important role in fostering greater literacy in Asian languages, they admit to concerns about China's influence over the program's content.
[174][175] An editorial in The Globe and Mail said Bolton "showed a stunning lack of judgment", and warned that "the Confucius Institute functions as little more than a long arm of the Chinese state, pushing its political agenda under the guise of simple language instruction.
"[180] Trustees said they had heard both sides of the argument, and received pressure from both parents alarmed over China's control of the programs and from Chinese officials who warned them that dissolving the partnership would endanger the TDSB's most lucrative market for fee-paying international students.
"Xu Lin not only refused to answer difficult questions, she also politicised the Confucius Institutes and reinforced the idea that they are led by dogmatists," commented Gary Rawnsley, professor of Public Diplomacy at Aberystwyth University, Wales.
[204] The Wall Street Journal reported on Xu's BBC interview, and said, "Critics have argued that China's Confucius Institutes pose a threat to academic freedom in the United States, Canada, Europe and beyond.
[92] In 2012, The Globe and Mail reported that Sonia Zhao quit her teaching position at McMaster University's Confucius Institute in Hamilton, Ontario, and sought political asylum in Canada based on religious discrimination.
In a complaint filed to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Ms. Zhao stated she was forced to hide her belief in the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which the Chinese government calls an illegal "evil cult", and argued that McMaster "is giving legitimization to discrimination."
Ms. Zhao filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, stating that McMaster was "giving legitimization to discrimination" because she was forced to hide her belief in the Falun Gong spiritual movement, for which the Hanban would fire her.