The Chinese Communist Party Has Weaseled Its Way Into America’s Kindergarten ClassroomsThe CCP learned from Mao’s Cultural Revolution that to destroy a society’s culture and values, one must first destroy schools. BY: HELEN RALEIGH
AUGUST 02, 2023
American parents who have children enrolled in K-12 schools already have plenty to worry about: how to keep their kids safe, shield their innocence from over-sexualized books, and prevent woke school districts from dumbing down math curriculums, to name a few. A new investigative report by Parents Defending Education adds another concern: how to prevent the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda from infiltrating American classrooms.
In the last two decades, besides building up the Chinese military, the CCP has focused on developing soft power by spreading its propaganda overseas through myriad methods, including taking advantage of the academic freedom in overseas educational institutions to shape favorable narratives about China and suppress unfavorable views. One of the CCP’s well-known influence operations is establishing overseas Confucius Institutes.
The Chinese government fully funds and manages these CIs, including supplying teachers and teaching materials, with the stated goal of teaching in K-12 schools and universities. CIs also sponsor international conferences and research papers on China-related topics. In truth, CIs are the CCP’s propaganda machines on foreign campuses disguised as education centers.
Li Changchun, a standing member of the Politburo who came up with the idea of establishing CIs abroad, called them an “important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.” China’s current dictator, Xi Jinping, increased funding for oversea influence operations such as CIs because he regarded them as effective vehicles to “give a good Chinese narrative, and better communicate China’s message to the world.”
Since launching in 2004, CIs have quickly expanded their worldwide presence. As of 2020, there were about 1,000 Confucius Institutes in dozens of countries on six continents, including more than 100 on American college campuses.
The Chinese government has also infiltrated America’s K-12 schools through Confucius Classrooms — an offshoot program of CI — sister school partnerships, and other programs since 2009. According to Parents Defending Education, about 143 schools across 34 states and Washington, D.C., have had some form of CI-affiliated programs.
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Source:
https://thefederalist.com/2023/08/02/the-chinese-communist-party-has-weaseled-its-way-into-americas-kindergarten-classrooms/
