MCLC: severing ties with Confucius Institutes

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Magnus Fiskesjö <nf42 at cornell.edu>
Subject: severing ties with Confucius Institutes
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See below (and 
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/12/19/call-end-ties-confucius
-institutes), on the Canadian Association of University Teachers taking a
stand against hosting Confucius Institutes (+ note that this Canadian
association also has a closely related, very nice general report on undue
corporate influence in universities, that's well worth reading too:
"Universities sacrifice integrity in pursuing deals", CAUT Bulletin Vol
60, No 10, December 2013,http://www.cautbulletin.ca/;
http://www.caut.ca/news/2013/12/17/universities-and-colleges-urged-to-end-t
ies-with-confucius-institutes#sthash.VOrm6ykQ.dpuf)

Magnus

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Source: Canadian Association of University Teachers (12/17/13):
http://www.caut.ca/news/2013/12/17/universities-and-colleges-urged-to-end-t
ies-with-confucius-institutes

Universities and colleges urged to end ties with Confucius Institutes

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is calling on
universities and colleges to sever their ties with institutes subsidized
and supervised by the authoritarian government of China.

At a meeting of the CAUT Council earlier this month, delegates passed a
resolution calling on universities and colleges in Canada which
currently host Confucius Institutes on their campuses to cease doing so,
and those contemplating such arrangements to pursue them no further.

“Confucius Institutes are essentially political arms of the Chinese
government,” said CAUT executive director James Turk. “They restrict the
free discussion of topics Chinese authorities deem controversial and
should have no place on our campuses.”

Confucius Institutes are academic units providing instruction in Chinese
language and culture. Unlike the Goethe Institut, the British Council
and the Alliance Française, Confucius Institutes are most often
physically situated on campuses and provide accredited courses.

Turk noted that the University of Manitoba rejected hosting a Confucius
Institute out of concerns over political censorship, and McMaster
University ended its agreement with the Confucius Institute earlier this
year following a human rights complaint by an instructor who alleged
discriminatory hiring practices against members of Falun Gong.

“Simply put, Confucius Institutes are owned and operated by an
authoritarian government and beholden to its politics,” Turk stated.

Canadian universities and colleges that currently host Confucius
Institutes include: British Columbia Institute of Technology, Brock
University, Carleton University, Dawson College, University of Regina,
University of Saskatchewan, Seneca College, University of Sherbrooke,
St. Mary’s University, and the University of Waterloo.

- See more at:

http://www.caut.ca/news/2013/12/17/universities-and-colleges-urged-to-end-t
ies-with-confucius-institutes#sthash.TX99FSpy.dpuf