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Pete Hegseth Designates Confucius Institutes Threatening US National Security
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Defense Department designated Confucius Institutes as a national security threat, according to Defense Secretary Hegseth. Chinese-funded cultural centers on U.S. campuses accused of spreading Chinese propaganda.
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Pentagon names Confucius threat
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on American college campuses known as Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security in a video posted on social media on Friday. Hegseth said the Defense Department added the centers to a list of institutions that threaten US national security after he alleged they were operating under disguise at US universities.
Hegseth claimed, "It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters," and he said the centers shared a mission to steal intellectual property and infiltrate the minds of American students. Hegseth also said the Defense Department over the past two months has "systematically dismantled every single one of these organizations," and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Disguise, dismantling, and numbers
Hegseth told audiences that Confucius Institutes had emerged under different names and statutes, and he described them as propaganda hubs across 30 universities. Hegseth said, "80 new propaganda cells on 30 universities had emerged under different names and a variety of charters," and he framed the alleged mission as stealing intellectual property and infiltrating the minds of American students.
The Pentagon chief said the Department of Defense took action against the organizations and that all centers were dismantled in the last two months. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, leaving Washington's characterization of the centers and their alleged reemergence without a direct reply in the accounts provided.
Escalation and institutional fallout
The Pentagon's designation came as Washington continued to accuse Confucius Institutes of being Chinese propaganda tools and of operating under disguise at US universities. TRT World said US Congress restricted funding to universities that welcome Confucius Institutes, which are funded by Beijing to teach the Chinese language but are accused of presenting only the communist government's worldview.
Arab News described the Pentagon action as the latest escalation in a multi-agency campaign and tied it to an earlier State Department move on August 13, 2020, when the State Department designated the Washington, D.C.-based Confucius Institute US Center (CIUS) as a foreign mission of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Arab News also said the State Department cited the opacity and state-directed nature of CIUS and required it to submit regular reports detailing its personnel, recruitment, funding, and operational footprints in the US.
