Chinese government gaining a foothold on US campuses, scholars say

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/12/04/chinese-government-gaining-footho
ld-on-us-campuses-scholars-say/?intcmp=latestnews

China's authoritarian government is gaining a foothold on American campuses
by funding dozens of institutes that project a rose-tinted view of the Asian
nation that compromises the academic integrity of U.S. universities, a
congressional hearing was told Thursday.

Scholars of China testified that these state-funded Confucius Institutes
teach nonpolitical subjects like Chinese language and culture but suppress
discussion on sensitive topics like Tibet and the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown
on democracy protesters.

The hearing was chaired by House Republican Rep. Chris Smith, an arch critic
of Beijing, who questioned whether American education was "for sale."

Students from China now make up 31 percent of all international students in
the United States. Last year, Chinese students in U.S. colleges and
universities contributed $8 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the
Commerce Department.

U.S. colleges such as New York University are also opening campuses in
China, hoping to tap into the country's enormous, growing pool of students.

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.