Alabama A&M shutters Confucius Institute
Alabama A&M University closed its Confucius Institute.
The move came after efforts from federal and state lawmakers to halt the initiative.
Alabama A&M University in Huntsville is the latest school to close its Confucius Institute.
According to a press release from Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), the university’s board “voted to close their Confucius Institute and end their relationship with the Communist Chinese Party.”
“Confucius Institutes are nothing more than Communist Chinese Party propaganda and spying units,” said Rep. Brooks. “For nearly a year, I, and other patriotic Alabamians have called on Alabama A&M University and Troy University to close their Communist Chinese Party-controlled Confucius Institutes.”
He applauded the university’s leaders for putting “America First.”
[RELATED: China rebrands Confucius Institutes in effort to quell global backlash]
“The Communist Chinese Party bars America from sponsoring pro-freedom, pro-Democracy institutes on Chinese soil,” added the statement. “America must reciprocate by barring the Communist Chinese Party from operating espionage and propaganda units on American soil.”
Indeed, Rep. Brooks called on Alabama A&M and Troy University to close their Confucius Institutes — which insist that they function as Chinese cultural centers despite close ties to the Chinese Communist Party’s propagandistic mission — in September 2020.
“Confucius Institutes hurt the integrity of our higher education system, threaten national security, and unnecessarily risk taxpayer funded research at your schools,” read Rep. Brooks’ letter.
Campus Reform has also reported on calls from Alabama lawmakers to close all Confucius Institutes in the state.
[RELATED: Ala. lawmakers push to ban CCP-funded Confucius Institutes from universities]
For example, state Rep. Tommy Hanes filed a bill that would stop all public schools from supporting “cultural institutes that are affiliated with, funded by, or supported by the government of China.” The bill explicitly called on Alabama A&M and Troy University to shutter their Confucius Institutes.
Rep. Hanes later added an amendment to the bill that would prohibit Confucius Institute programming from public K-12 educational institutions.
Campus Reform reached out to Alabama A&M and Rep. Brooks for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.
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