China Infiltrates American Classrooms

A statue of Confucius
iStock.com/MonicaNinker

China Infiltrates American Classrooms

Confucius Institutes teach the Chinese language—alongside what one politburo member admitted is propaganda.

America’s leaders are busy debating whether or not to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants and wondering which politician will be next to fall in a high-profile sexual harassment scandal. Meanwhile, in China, policymakers are busy infiltrating educational institutions around the world with Communist propaganda through the Confucius Institute.

In a Politico article titled “How China Infiltrated U.S. Classrooms,” Ethan Epstein wrote:

Last year, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte made an announcement to great fanfare: The university would soon open a branch of the Confucius Institute, the Chinese government-funded educational institutions that teach Chinese language, culture and history. The Confucius Institute would “help students be better equipped to succeed in an increasingly globalized world,” says Nancy Gutierrez, unc–Charlotte’s dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and “broaden the university’s outreach and support for language instruction and cultural opportunities in the Charlotte community,” according to a press release.

But the Confucius Institutes’ goals are a little less wholesome and edifying than they sound—and this is by the Chinese government’s own account. A 2011 speech by a standing member of the politburo in Beijing laid out the case: “The Confucius Institute is an appealing brand for expanding our culture abroad,” Li Changchun said. “It has made an important contribution toward improving our soft power. The ‘Confucius’ brand has a natural attractiveness. Using the excuse of teaching Chinese language, everything looks reasonable and logical.”

By Li’s admission, the main purpose of the Confucius Institute is not to teach the Chinese language. That is an excuse China’s government uses to spread Chinese culture and exert power around the world. This strategy is working well for Communist China.

Epstein continued:

More than a decade after they were created, Confucius Institutes have sprouted up at more than 500 college campuses worldwide, with more than 100 of them in the United States—including at the George Washington University, the University of Michigan and the University of Iowa. Overseen by a branch of the Chinese Ministry of Education known colloquially as Hanban, the institutes are part of a broader propaganda initiative that the Chinese government is pumping an estimated $10 billion into annually, and they have only been bolstered by growing interest in China among American college students.

The primary reason U.S. universities and grade schools are allowing the Chinese Ministry of Education to set up Confucius Institute branches on campuses is money. According to a Heritage Foundation report, the institute provides schools with an initial $1 million investment, and then gives $100,000 to $200,000 per year.

“Universities are always on the lookout for money, and this money they have gotten comes at a very high price in terms of their integrity and in terms of their academic freedom,” Mike Gonzalez, author of the report, told Campus Reform in an interview.

The Communist Party of China is attempting to use its network of Confucius Institutes to influence a new generation of world leaders and policymakers in a more pro-China direction. In addition to teaching about Confucianism and communism, these institutes teach oncoming generations of American leaders to take a more accommodating position concerning China’s history of human rights abuses, especially where Taiwan and Tibet are concerned. If China is successful in this regard, it will be a great step toward its goal of dominating Tibet, Taiwan and all of Asia.

As the Philadelphia Trumpet reported in its August 2016 issue, Beijing has a documented plan to be the premier global superpower by 2049.

By 2049, the Chinese economy is projected to be much larger than the U.S. economy—perhaps double or triple the size, according to some estimates. At that point, it will be easy to bring the Chinese military into compliance with the ancient Rites of Zhou by making it four times larger than America’s armed forces.

Many U.S. politicians scoff at the idea that there is a God in heaven who gives power unto kings, yet it is true. The Bible specifically describes a time when God will allow Gentile nations like China, Iran, Germany and Russia to rise to prominence over the Anglo-American people. God does this as part of His plan to correct all nations for turning away from His law.

The fact that Britain has fallen from greatness and that China is eclipsing America does not escape God’s notice. We must see such seismic global power shifts with His perspective. In the end, the problems afflicting America and Britain are actually correction from God to help the Anglo-American people see their sins and repent.

Long-time readers of the Trumpet know that the U.S. and Britain are actually descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob (who was renamed Israel). You can prove this for yourself by reading Herbert W. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

The Prophet Isaiah specifically corrected the house of Jacob for forsaking God’s law and running after Eastern philosophies. “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers” (Isaiah 2:5-6).

Accepting Chinese money to teach the upcoming generation about Chinese Confucianism and communism is not going to solve America’s problems. It is going to help strip America of its blessings—the greatest national blessings ever conferred on any people. Every nation on Earth has to learn the lesson that only God’s Word brings lasting peace and prosperity.