February 15, 2023
No more Confucius Institutes will be approved in Australia and universities’ controversial arrangements with the Beijing-backed organisation will remain under constant scrutiny, following a major inquiry into foreign interference.
But the Albanese Government stopped shy of backing the powerful intelligence and security commission call to force the public disclosure of how institutes are funded.
It comes as Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil warned that espionage and foreign interference were “a much bigger problem than the public conversation reflects”.
University of Queensland, QUT and Griffith University all host Confucius Institutes.
The Albanese Government on Tuesday handed down its response to the parliamentary intelligence and security committees wide-ranging report into foreign influence and interference at universities.
It included specific recommendations around Confucius Institutes, Chinese language and culture education facilities which have been accused of giving Beijing too much power over curriculum and even faced accusations that Chinese authorities used them to monitor students and academics abroad.
It is understood that universities have been informed via the University Foreign Interference Taskforce that Foreign Minister Penny Wong will not approve any further Confucius Institutes and she will keep a close eye on the existing ones.
Senator Wong said: “The Government remains concerned about foreign interference and potential risks to academic freedom through some foreign arrangements at universities and will keep these arrangements under review.”
The report noted, but did not explicitly support the recommendation that funding arrangement associated with the institutes be made public, though the arrangements are reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Opposition countering foreign influence spokesman Senator James Paterson said he noted the Minister had not used her powers to end any of the existing arrangements.
“It is up to the government to explain why a new Confucius Institute would be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy but a current one is not,” he said.
UQ vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said the university would continue to work with the taskforce to increase awareness and risk of foreign interference.
“Our Confucius Institute agreement has been disclosed under the Foreign Arrangements Scheme,” she said.
A QUT spokeswoman said the university had not had a relationship with Hanban, the Chinese-government entity which previously ran Confucius Institutes, since 2020 but continued with a school via Nanjing Normal University.
“To date the feedback on those programs is positive but we review all agreements over time in line with our available resources and in line with Australian government policy,” she said.
A Griffith University spokeswoman said it had reviewed its arrangements with its Tourism Confucius Institute in 2021, with the new agreement submitted to DFAT.
“The revised agreement is directly with our Chinese partner university and reinforces both the scope of the TCI and adherence to all Griffith University policies,” she said.
