Shut down Griffith University's Confucius Institute

The issue

The Chinese Communist Party's Office of Chinese Language Council International, or Hanban, runs the international program known as Confucius Institutes.

The Chinese Communist Party has funneled billions into the program globally and they have caused controversy for the manner of their operation(1).

The documentary In the Name of Confucius blows the lid on this situation and was recently screened on the Gold Coast Griffith University.

Numerous universities around the world have closed down their Confucius Institutes due to these controversies and concerns by experts, the community and students.

Li Changchun, the 5th-highest-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee, was quoted in The Economist saying the Institutes were "an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up"(2).

This propaganda set up is used to not only push the line of the Chinese Government as it relates to Taiwan, the Dalai Lama and Tibet and the persecution of Falun Gong, it is also believed to be associated with spying and reporting back to the Chinese Government on political activity on campuses.

Australia has numerous Confucius Institutes that reach into our classrooms and universities.

The NSW Government is currently reviewing their policy on "Confucius classrooms".

Such are the concerns, US Congress recently passed legislation that withholds defence research funding to US universities that have a Confucius Institute on campus.

In the Name of Confucius outlines a disturbing story of somebody who worked for Hanban and decided to speak out. She's now in Canada as a refugee unable to return to her home country China. Her elderly parents are also now unable to leave China and under constant surveillance and wiretapping by the Chinese Government.

There are many more of these stories globally. These can be easily researched online.

The response from the Griffith University Council to our concerns so far has been sub-par and has not taken our concerns seriously.

It also appears, based on our correspondence with them, that Griffith University is unaware of the risks and controversies around these institutes.

We are concerned about the nature of Confucius Institutes in Australian Institutes, most particularly in this instance within Griffith University on both Gold Coast and Nathan Campuses.

These kind of programs don't not belong in an open free country like Australia, with the spying risks posing significant risks to Chinese students on our campuses, with implications for their family members at home from a government increasingly spying on every citizen daily.

We expect the SRC and Student Guild to address these issues on behalf of concerned students.

Therefore:

- We seek the immediate public disclosure of the agreement Griffith University signed with the Chinese Government to open their Confucius Institute.

- We seek the immediate closure of the Confucius Institutes on Griffith University campuses.

(1) http://inthenameofconfuciusmovie.com/media-reports-on-confucius-institutes/