Confucius Institute teachers at a public primary school in Xinzhou are teaching. (picture of Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Sydney Morning Post and the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney, the New State Department of Education, for fear of potential foreign influence, will be suspended in the Confucius Institute project in the public school, which is funded by the Chinese side. The chinese consulate in sydney responded to the "Clarification of new state requirements".
The Confucius Institute project, run under the supervision of China`s National Han Office (Hanban), teaches Mandarin in 13 public schools on the north-central coast of Sydney and Xinzhou.
Worried about "political propaganda" in Australian schools, the New State Department of Education called for a review of the Confucius Institute project in May last year.
Although the Department of Education later submitted its report that there was no evidence of "substantive political impact" in the review, it found that "specific reasons may lead to the belief that Confucius Institutes are or may contribute to inappropriate foreign influence on the Department of Education".
"the main concern is that the New State Department of Education is the only government department in the world to open Confucius Institutes, an arrangement that will allow the Chinese to appoint people into the government department of the new state."
It is reported that the Confucius Institute project of the Xinzhou Department of Education began in 2011.
"it is one thing to have foreign government appointed to the government sector," the review said. "it is another matter for a one-party autocratic country to appoint a country`s censors to work in a democratic government sector."
Scott (Mark Scott), deputy director of the New State Education Department, said: "there will be a six-month transition period before the suspension of the Confucius Institute project, and the agreement will end by the end of this year."
"the review found that the Confucius Institute project agreement with the New State Department of Education is the only one," he added. "it is best to set up the project with higher education institutions."
Scott said the Department of Education accepted all the review recommendations and began to put them into practice.
"Confucius Institute students account for 15 percent of the total number of Chinese students in Xinzhou public schools," he said. "there will also be a new A $1.2 million program to continue to teach Chinese language and culture to students."
Councillor Hubridge (David Shoebridge), a New State Greens Party, said the report was "extremely bad" and that the authors who spoke highly of the review were clear. "I am glad to see that the Department of Education is prepared to rescind the agreement. Unfortunately, they cannot implement it immediately because the secret agreement it signed contains a six-month termination clause."
"however, this is an agreement that should not be signed by the Unionparty government." Hughbridge also said government was in urgent need of money to "sell out the independence of the state government" for a small amount of money.
New State Education Director Michelle (Sarah Mitchell) said she supported the Department`s decision to terminate the Confucius Institute project.
At present, Australia has 14 Confucius Institutes and 67 Confucius classrooms, ranking third in the world, after the United States and the United Kingdom.
Chinese Consulate General requests clarification from New State government
Yesterday, the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney issued a statement on its website saying it was concerned about the matter and "asked for clarification from the new state."
The confucius institute project of the new state ministry of education was established on the principle of mutual respect, friendly consultation, equality and mutual benefit, and the cooperation was open, transparent, legal and compliant. This project has made important contributions to strengthening humanistic exchanges and promoting mutual understanding and friendship.
"China notes that the Ministry of Education of Xinzhou has indicated that it will continue to strengthen Chinese education, and hopes that the role of Confucius Institutes will be correctly viewed by the Xinzhou side, that normal people-to-people exchanges will not be politicized, and that more will be done to enhance friendly and cooperative relationship between the two sides."
