USA taking action against confused institutions
US plans registration requirement for China's Confucius Institutes: Report
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Logo of Confucius Institute US Center. (Image: Facebook/Confucius Institute)
13 Aug 2020 07:31AM
(Updated: 13 Aug 2020 09:04AM)
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WASHINGTON: The US State Department may announce as soon as Thursday (Aug 13) a requirement for Chinese government-funded cultural centers at US universities to register as foreign missions, Bloomberg News reported, a development that would be signal further deterioration in ties with Beijing.
The move would amount to a conclusion that the so-named Confucius Institutes are “substantially owned or effectively controlled” by a foreign government and subject them to administrative requirements similar to those for embassies and consulates, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
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The State Department and other US government agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. One Congressional source, who did not want to be identified, said he had heard such an announcement was coming.
Last year, the US State and Education Departments promised stricter monitoring of the institutes, which have been criticised in Congress and elsewhere as de facto propaganda arms of China's Communist government.
In June, the State Department announced it would start treating four major Chinese media outlets as foreign embassies, calling them mouthpieces for Beijing.
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US-China relations are at their lowest ebb in decades, with President Donald Trump taking a tough line on Beijing ahead of his Nov 3 re-election bid.
The world's top two economies are at loggerheads on issues ranging from handling of the coronavirus pandemic to China's crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong and what US officials say is rampant espionage activity to steal US business and military secrets.