Texas A&M closes Confucius Institutes

At the request of Texas legislators, Texas A&M's main campus at College Station and its branch at Prairie View will close their Confucius Institutes. Representatives Cuellar and McCaul criticized the Confucius Institutes as "a threat to our nation's security by serving as a platform for China's intelligence collection and political agenda." Going further, they say, "We have a responsibility to uphold our American values of free expression, and to do whatever is necessary to counter any behavior that poses a threat to our democracy."

The decision to close the Confucius Institutes is likely the first time a university has responded to legislative urging, even though other legislators (Rubio & Cruz) have previous expressed concerns. Some faculty/staff who have been involved in Confucius Institutes claim that the legislative pressures are inappropriate interventions and unfair characterizations of the purpose of the Institutes. However, the closing of the University of Chicago and Pennsylvania State University Institutes in 2014 and the statement of the American Association of University Professors in the same year reflect the sentiment that the Confucius Institutes permit Chinese state control through the choice of curriculum, selection of academic staff, and restriction of debate.