On Monday, State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant) unveiled an effort that bars Confucius Institutes from operating on publicly funded college campuses in Alabama.
According to a release, Hanes has teamed up with the College Republican Federation of Alabama. The group passed a resolution urging colleges to reconsider their relationships with Confucius Institutes back in May.
“Confucius Institutes operate as a propagandist arm of the Chinese Communist Party,” Hanes said in a statement. “The Chinese government is attempting to indoctrinate young Americans by infiltrating our very own universities. This must be put to a stop.”
According to a National Association of Scholars article, two Confucius Institutes operate at Alabama publicly funded colleges — Troy University in Troy and Alabama A&M University in Huntsville.
“This bill would prohibit public institutions of higher education from providing support for, funding for, or use of its campus facilities for the operation of cultural institutes, such as Confucius Institutes, that are affiliated with, funded by, or supported by the government of China,” reads draft language of the bill according to a press release.
Hanes alleged the Confucius Institutes were a tool used by the Chinese government to propaganda abroad. He urged public officials to “do everything in their power to halt Chinese government infiltration in
American academia.”
“College campuses are bastions of free speech and academic freedom, principles that communism explicitly seeks to destroy,” Hanes added. “We must make clear that the Chinese government will have no safe harbor to promote the evils of communism in the State of Alabama.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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