American parents who have children enrolled in K-12 schools already have plenty to worry about: how to keep their kids safe, shield their innocence from over-sexualized books, and prevent woke school districts from dumbing down math curriculums, to name a few. A new investigative report by Parents Defending Education adds another concern: how to prevent the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda from infiltrating American classrooms.
In the last two decades, besides building up the Chinese military, the CCP has focused on developing soft power by spreading its propaganda overseas through myriad methods, including taking advantage of the academic freedom in overseas educational institutions to shape favorable narratives about China and suppress unfavorable views. One of the CCP’s well-known influence operations is establishing overseas Confucius Institutes.
The Chinese government fully funds and manages these CIs, including supplying teachers and teaching materials, with the stated goal of teaching in K-12 schools and universities. CIs also sponsor international conferences and research papers on China-related topics. In truth, CIs are the CCP’s propaganda machines on foreign campuses disguised as education centers.
Li Changchun, a standing member of the Politburo who came up with the idea of establishing CIs abroad, called them an “important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.” China’s current dictator, Xi Jinping, increased funding for oversea influence operations such as CIs because he regarded them as effective vehicles to “give a good Chinese narrative, and better communicate China’s message to the world.”
Since launching in 2004, CIs have quickly expanded their worldwide presence. As of 2020, there were about 1,000 Confucius
