Pentagon declares Confucius Institutes on U.S. campuses a national security threat
U.S. Defense Secretary Pit Hegset says Confucius Institutes operated covertly on campuses and were added to a Pentagon list of national security threats.
The Pentagon has declared China-funded cultural centers on U.S. university campuses — known as the Confucius Institutes — a threat to United States national security, U.S. Defense Secretary Pit Hegset said.
Washington has for years accused the Confucius Institutes of acting as instruments of Chinese propaganda and has taken steps to curb their operations at American colleges and universities.
In a video posted on social media, Hegset said the Confucius Institutes on American campuses operated covertly and that the Pentagon had placed them on a list of institutions that jeopardize U.S. national security.
"It turned out that at 30 universities 80 new propaganda cells had appeared, using different names and statuses, but with the same goal: stealing intellectual property and infiltrating the minds of American students," said Hegset.
Recent actions by the Defense Department
"Over the past two months, the Department of Defense 'systematically dismantled each of these organizations'," he added, saying the ministry had worked to break up the networks across campuses.
There has been no comment so far from the Chinese embassy in Washington. The announcement is likely to intensify scrutiny of remaining Confucius Institute activities and of university agreements with foreign-funded cultural programs.
Photo: press material from the event
