China’s tentacles are reaching into American public schools at an alarming rate, according to parents and several Republican members of Congress.
A new report from Parents Defending Education, a grassroots organization focused on education, says that over time, China has reached into 143 school districts in 34 states and the District of Columbia through its Confucius Classrooms program, giving schools $17,967,565.12 since 2009. Of those schools, the report said, the “CCP has had ties to school districts near 20 U.S. military bases.”
“The allure of Chinese language and culture programs have led American K-12 schools to forge ties with one of the United States’ biggest foreign adversaries,” the group’s report, titled “Little Red Classrooms,” said.
“While it’s important to provide students access to Chinese language and culture programs in schools, American schools should not give the Chinese Communist Party unfettered access to our students,” the report said.
🚨The Chinese Communist Party is waging an influence campaign inside of America’s K-12 schools through “Confucius Classrooms.”
Most parents are not even aware this happening due to the lack of transparency, which is extremely alarming.pic.twitter.com/vFXu64K4OG
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) August 1, 2023
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The Confucius Classrooms project is an offshoot of what are called Confucius Institutes that were set up at U.S. universities.
“Chinese state media has touted the work done by Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms to further the Chinese Communist Party’s global influence,” the report from Parents Defending Education said.
A report from the National Association of Scholars noted that many Confucius Institutes closed down due to “pressure from the FBI, the Department of State, Congress, and state legislatures.”
As noted by the U.K. Daily Mail, several Republicans in Congress want all existing partnerships scrutinized or severed.
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Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida said the Parents Defending Education report is “’alarming” because “we truly don’t understand the full extent of Communist China’s meddling in our education system.”
“Not only is the CCP trying to promote their propaganda through education programs but are using Chinese shell companies to outright buy American private schools around the country,” he said, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party.
Is China Influencing What Your Child Is Learning in School?
“…the Confucius Classroom and Institute programs are definitely a soft-power exercise…(They) try to soften American attitudes toward the Chinese government and Chinese policies.”https://t.co/vVJNklRe68#CCP
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) August 4, 2023
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas told the Daily Mail that the apparent targeting of schools near military bases is concerning.
“From buying our farmland to setting up CCP police stations here on U.S. soil, stealing our intellectual property, spying on our military bases, and now buying their way into our children’s K-12 schools, it is past time for this administration to wake up and realize what we are up against,” he said.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said that, “Learning languages and cultures critical to national security, like Chinese, is essential, but it shouldn’t come with Communist propaganda and influence.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is not a trustworthy partner. Accepting funding and influence from our greatest adversary is a threat to America’s children and national security,” Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana said.
“The CCP’s goal is to undermine U.S. strength at home and our leadership abroad. We should take every measure to strengthen our defenses against this adversary, which must include blocking their ability to propagandize in America’s K-12 schools. I call on you to immediately address this issue with the urgency it deserves and look forward to your response,” Banks wrote in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, according to the Washington Examiner.
