Fri August, 2020, Age: 4 years
The State Department has announced that it is classifying the center that oversees the China-backed Confucius Institutes in the U.S. as a foreign mission. The designation, which is normally applied to foreign diplomatic outposts, requires the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, based in Washington D.C., to declare its personnel and property in the U.S. to American officials. This change is intended to draw attention to the ways the Trump administration says the Chinese language lessons and cultural programming of the Confucius Institute function as propaganda outlets for the CCP within the United States. As of June 30, there are around 75 Confucius Institutes active in the U.S., many with affiliations to local schools or universities.