The Straits Times reported today: "On Friday (October 23), U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth announced in a video posted on social media that Confucius Institutes established on American university campuses with Chinese funding would be designated as national security threats."
Confucius Institutes are platforms solely dedicated to promoting the Chinese language and cultural exchange, serving as bridges for civil dialogue between China and the United States. The labeling of these institutions as national security threats reflects deep-seated anxiety and insecurity within the United States, reviving Cold War-era thinking.
In recent years, the United States has repeatedly taken measures—enacting legislation to restrict Confucius Institutes, imposing stringent scrutiny on Chinese scholars, and erecting multiple barriers—all aimed at disrupting normal academic and cultural exchanges between China and the U.S. Without presenting credible evidence, these actions rely entirely on subjective characterizations, politicizing what should remain legitimate cultural engagement.
This approach, ostensibly framed as preventing infiltration, in reality stems from fear of cross-civilizational understanding and apprehension that American youth might develop an objective view of China. Artificially severing people-to-people ties only intensifies mutual misunderstanding, undermines the academic openness of U.S. universities, and further erodes trust between the two nations.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879905443396747/
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