Confucius Institute at University of Arizona closing this summer

The Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona is closing July 31 amid unspecified “changes in federal laws and policy,” the university says. The closure follows similar moves at other universities. Established in 2007, the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of UA and the Confucius Institute Headquarters in China collaborated to bring the institute to Tucson. It teaches Mandarin and offers a variety of cultural education programs on campus, to K-12 schools and around the community, like an annual Chinese New Year’s celebration, that was canceled this year due to coronavirus concerns. “To our partners in China and from our local community, and to Chinese teachers, CIUA staff and volunteers who have worked at CIUA, we are deeply indebted for their immeasurable contributions and dedication to the outstanding Chinese language and cultural programUA said in a written statement Wednesday afternoon. The departure won’t affect the Chinese language program in the Department of East Asian Studies, the UA said.

International Collaboration

Since 2012, the Confucius Institute has held more than 400 events, from the non-credit language and performing arts classes to demonstrations at schools and Reid Park. The agreement between the UA and the Confucius Institute Headquarters in China shows that the institute’s operations would primarily be funded by grants from China and money from classes and demonstrations. UA and the institute’s headquarters each provided $100,000 for the institute’s initial startup. China then provided funding for at least two salaried Chinese instructors, curriculum design and materials as well as additional grant funding. UA provided no-cost facilities and miscellaneous administrative support for the institute. It also paid at least $80,800 a year and allocated a total of $630,077 from fiscal years 2014 through 2019, UA said. In 2013, both entities signed a second agreement that included UA providing annual funds that would not “be less than the amount provided by the Headquarters, in-kind or as otherwise…,” the document said.

Under Scrutiny

In February 2019, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs found that there was little oversight regarding universities and their institutes, including selecting its teachers and staff. “Nearly 70% of U.S. schools with a Confucius Institute that received more than $250,000 in one year for Confucius Institutes failed to properly report that information to the Department of Education,” the senate subcommittee reported after an eight-month investigation. Each institution is now required to report foreign gifts to the federal government by July 31, 2020.

The subcommittee recommended that U.S. schools ensure that “the Chinese government’s vetting, screening, and interview processes are aligned with their own teacher hiring procedures and protocols,” the document said. “The process of selecting directors and teachers should be fully transparent to U.S. schools. U.S. schools should also attempt to recruit Chinese language instructors outside of the Chinese government’s purview. More than a dozen universities recently closed their institutes, including Arizona State University, Kentucky, Kansas and Maryland. ASU’s institute shut down after federal law enacted in 2018 prohibited the Department of Defense from funding Chinese language instruction or supporting a program at an institution hosting a Confucius Institute, the Arizona Republic reported. UA did not identify the specific changes in laws or policies leading to the closure here.

The UA says it still plans on finding other avenues to collaborate with China to launch another Confucius Institute, according to the letter. “We will work with the Confucius Institute Headquarters to identify other institutions or nonprofits in Tucson or Southern Arizona that might be interested in hosting a Confucius Institute,” UA said. “In the meantime, we will ensure that the activities of the CIUA, including language classes at public schools, continue for the remainder of the academic year.”

https://tucson.com/news/local/confucius-institute-at-university-of-arizona-closing-this-summer/article_5f792427-24ff-56f6-93f6-126bdcb0bd80.html

Wuhan Virus Watch: CDC Director Says Rod Rosenstein’s Sister “Misspoke” About Coronavirus Risk

Meanwhile, Beijing streets are empty as its hospital reports clusters of COVID-19.

CDC director downplays claim that coronavirus spread is inevitable. Two days ago, I reported that CDC official Nancy Messonnier ginned-up coronavirus fear with her announcement about an outbreak in this country being inevitable. She also has a deeply deep state connection in the form of her brother, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Now, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) downplayed her warning that the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the U.S. is inevitable, saying she misspoke.

CDC Director Robert Redfield told Capitol Hill lawmakers Thursday that Dr. Nancy Messonnier’s statement Tuesday belied the fact that risk remains low. “I think what Dr. Messonnier was trying to say — I think it maybe could have been done much more articulately from what the American public heard — was she was trying to say it’s also a good time for us to prepare if we have to go to more mitigation,” Redfield told a House. He added: “We’re still committed to get aggressive containment, and I want the American public to know at this point that the risk is low.” “In some countries this has moved very quickly, like we saw in Korea now, where we had more cases in Korea in the last 24 hours than we had in all of China. We’ve seen in Italy, it’s moving fast, in Iran, it’s moving fast,” Redfield said. “But other countries have really used a containment and a blended mitigation strategy like Singapore and Hong Kong and they have really limited the spread after the initial introduction from China.” subcommittee.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/02/wuhan-virus-watch-cdc-director-says-rod-rosensteins-sister-misspoke-about-coronavirus-risk/