By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, APR 28: The Swedish government has decided to shut down its last Confucius teaching program amid concerns over Beijing’s attempt to disseminate propaganda and restrict academic freedom through these set-ups. Sweden has now become the first European nation to close all Chinese state-sponsored teaching programs which were established to promote Chinese language and strengthen cultural exchange between the two nations.
Sweden closed all four Confucius Institutes in December last year, except one Confucius classroom in the southern Swedish town of Falkenberg, which was suspended last week according to The Times. Björn Jerdén, head of Asia Program at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, described the closure as “solid proof of Sweden’s changing attitude over China.”
Sweden’s deteriorating ties with China and the termination of the cultural education programs, many say, could have resulted from Beijing’s detention of Swedish bookseller, Gui Minhai, who was selling texts critical of China’s President Xi Jinping. He was sentenced for 10 years in jail for “illegally providing intelligence overseas” in February.
The University of Maryland in the US also announced the termination of its Confucius Institute earlier this year. Allegations of academic influence by Beijing were cited as reasons for its termination. Most sensitive topics that were prohibited at the CIs include Taiwan’s independence and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) persecutions of Tibetans.
The Chinese government launched Confucius Institutes in 2004 at various foreign universities as a key government policy with the stated goal of promoting Chinese language and culture. US officials have maintained that the institutes are a propaganda tool meant to enhance China’s “soft power.” There are 86 Confucius Institutes currently operating in the US, including at elite institutions such as Stanford University and Tufts University.
