University of Kentucky cuts off contact with Confucius Institute

WASHINGTON — Western Kentucky University (WKU) is cutting off links with the Confucius Institute funded by the Chinese government due to a new US federal policy.

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On Tuesday, the school's principal, Tim Caboni, announced the news in an email to the faculty. Cabernet said that the Defense Expenditure Act passed last year stipulated that if the school received the Chinese language program of the Ministry of Defense, the school could not open a Confucius Institute.

The National Defense Authorization Act, passed by the US Congress last August, prohibits the Ministry of Defense from providing funding to teaching institutions related to the Confucius Institute without exemptions.

The Chinese languageship program "Chinese Flagship Program" offered by Western Kentucky University was funded by the Pentagon. The program allows students to study Chinese while studying for an undergraduate degree.

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President Cabern said that the school requested an exemption but was rejected.

There are about 100 Confucius Institutes funded by Hanban in China, and the teaching, teaching, activities and speakers in the education program are approved by the Chinese government. The outside world is worried that the Confucius Institute may damage American academic and free speech and become a tool for China's overseas penetration.