When Hoosier students step onto Indiana’s college campuses, they expect a world-class education afforded to them through academic freedom. But statewide, we’ve seen troubling instances of students subjected to an indoctrination effort by the Chinese Communist Party through well-funded Chinese-language centers called Confucius Institutes – including at Valparaiso University.
Between 2010 and 2019, the Chinese communist government poured more than $1.1 million into Valparaiso University. While that dollar amount is disclosed to the U.S. Department of Education, Hoosiers are left in the dark about how that funding is used to exert foreign influence on Valparaiso’s students and on K-12 children through sponsorship programs at area schools. Hoosiers deserve answers.
That’s why the Office of the Indiana Attorney General has launched an investigation into the Confucius Institutes’ association with Valparaiso University. Our office seeks to bring attention, transparency, and accountability to our educational institutions and the propaganda peddled by a foreign communist power on Hoosiers, particularly impressionable ones.
The Chinese Communist Party has made no secret regarding the intent and purposes of Confucius Institutes embedded in our universities. Chinese “Minister of Propaganda” Liu Yunshan exhorted his compatriots in a 2010 People’s Daily article, in which he said these institutes exist to “coordinate the efforts of overseas and domestic propaganda, [and] further create a favorable international environment for us.” He goes on to say, “With regard to key issues that influence our sovereignty and safety, we should actively carry out international propaganda battles against issuers such as Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan, human rights, and Falun Gong.”
These propaganda efforts are broadly referred to by China as the “United Front." According to a report issued by the congressionally created United States – China Economic and Security Review Commission, “China uses what it calls ‘United Front’ work to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party.”
Through these Confucius Institutes, the Chinese Communist Party seeks to paint itself in an undeservedly positive light. The truth is China must answer for covering up its role in unleashing COVID-19 on the planet, or the enslavement of its own citizens in the Xinjiang province because of religious and cultural differences.
“Genocide” is how our U.S. Department of State labeled what is happening in Communist China. So why would we allow this regime such influence over our children’s education? Money. It is the same reason Hollywood studios alter their movies to pass the screening of Chinese censors. It is why star athletes like Lebron James are willing to vilify American law enforcement yet remain silent on genocide in China. It is why American tech giants will censor and void their supposed commitment to transparency and privacy in order to appease the communist government.
A 2019 U.S. Senate investigation found that since 2006, the Chinese government provided more than $158 million to more than 100 U.S. schools for Confucius Institutes. The Chinese Communist Party maintains nearly complete control over every aspect of these institutions while allowing minimal transparency to their functions.
This is a battle for the future of our state and our nation. Hoosiers deserve answers and transparency into the impact of these institutes on our schools and students. Our investigation hopes to uncover whether the Chinese government has attempted to exert political influence and manipulate the attitudes and beliefs of Hoosiers through their Confucius Institutes. Our office will use every tool at our disposal to protect Hoosiers and put liberty into action.