简体中文
China on Thursday slammed the bid by a few US lawmakers to designate Confucius Institutes as “foreign agents”, saying the move reflected “outdated”, “Cold War mentality”, while asserting that the institutes have played a key role in building Beijing’s ties with many countries across the world.
“I noted that recently certain American individuals have made noises from time to time, which actually comes down to the way they view the world and China's development or the question whether they are really able to discard the Cold-War mentality, zero-sum game mindset and the outdated either-or concept and pursue mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
“Such noises always remind me of a saying from the Analects of Confucius, that is, ‘While a gentleman is open and poised, a petty man is unhappy and worried’,” she added.
Hua emphasized that the Confucius Institutes in the US are established at the voluntary request of US universities with the principle of mutual respect, friendly consultation, equality and mutual benefit upon formal agreement.
“The purpose of Confucius Institutes is strengthening educational and cultural exchange and cooperation between China and other countries and enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between their peoples,” she continued, adding that that “Confucius Institutes are warmly welcomed in many countries and they have played an important role in promoting mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between China and relevant countries.”
China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying reacts to US bid against Confucius Institutes
Hua’s remarks came a day after three US Republican lawmakers demanded Confucius Institutes operating in the US to be registered as “foreign agents”.
Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, and Representative Joe Wilson introduced the “Foreign Influence Transparency Act” on Wednesday, which would require the institutes to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Last November, a congressional report demanded China’s state-run Xinhua news agency to be registered as “foreign agents” under the same FARA, which was devised in 1938 to counter pro-Nazi agitation in US soil in the run up to World War II.
The Confucius Institutes offer language and cultural programs at more than 100 American colleges and universities.
Globally, there are 516 Confucius Institutes spread across 142 countries and regions, Xinhua reported in October citing the institutes’ headquarters. Since the Confucius Institute was established in 2004, more than seven million students have been trained worldwide and 2.1 million are currently studying, it said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson hoped that the US lawmakers “will abandon the obsolete ideas and truly think and act in a manner in keeping with the 21st century and look at the trend of the times and China's development in an objective and rational way.”
(CGTN)
