{"id":1988499,"date":"2023-08-02T08:06:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T12:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-chinese-communist-party-has-weaseled-its-way-into-americas-kindergarten-classrooms\/"},"modified":"2023-08-02T08:10:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T12:10:44","slug":"the-chinese-communist-party-has-weaseled-its-way-into-americas-kindergarten-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-chinese-communist-party-has-weaseled-its-way-into-americas-kindergarten-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Communist Party infiltrates US kindergartens."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-chinese-communist-party-has-weaseled-its-way-into-americas-kindergarten-classrooms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1988499&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p><strong>American parents who\u2064 have children enrolled in K-12 \u200bschools\u2064 already have plenty\u200d to worry about:<\/strong> how to keep their kids safe, shield their innocence from over-sexualized books,\u2062 and prevent woke school districts from dumbing down math curriculums, to name a few. A new investigative\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/investigations\/little-red-classrooms-china-infiltration-of-american-k-12-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>\u202fby Parents Defending Education adds another concern: how to prevent the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s propaganda \u200cfrom infiltrating American classrooms. <\/p>\n<h2>The Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s Influence in American\u200b Classrooms<\/h2>\n<p>In the last two \u200ddecades, besides building up the Chinese military, the CCP\u2063 has\u2064 focused on\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/chinas-big-bet-soft-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">developing\u2062 soft power<\/a>\u202fby spreading its propaganda overseas through myriad methods, including taking advantage \u200cof the academic freedom in overseas \u2063educational institutions to shape favorable narratives about China and suppress unfavorable views. One of the\u200b CCP\u2019s well-known influence operations is establishing\u2063 overseas \u2062Confucius Institutes. <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>What are Confucius Institutes?<\/h3>\n<p>The Chinese\u2063 government fully funds and manages these CIs, including supplying teachers and teaching materials,\u200d with the stated goal of teaching in\u00a0K-12 schools and universities. CIs also sponsor international conferences and\u200b research papers on China-related topics. In truth, \u2062CIs are the CCP\u2019s propaganda machines on foreign campuses disguised as education centers.  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Li Changchun, a standing member of the Politburo who came up \u200cwith the idea of establishing CIs abroad,\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/magazine\/story\/2018\/01\/16\/how-china-infiltrated-us-classrooms-216327\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a>\u202fthem\u200d an \u201cimportant part of China\u2019s overseas \u200bpropaganda set-up.\u201d China\u2019s current dictator, Xi Jinping,\u2064 increased funding for \u200boversea\u2062 influence operations such as CIs because he\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/chinas-big-bet-soft-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regarded them as effective vehicles<\/a>\u202fto \u201cgive a good \u2064Chinese \u2064narrative, and better communicate\u200d China\u2019s \u2062message to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since launching in 2004, \u2062CIs have quickly expanded \u2064their\u2064 worldwide presence. As of 2020,\u2064 there were about 1,000 Confucius Institutes in dozens of countries on six continents, including more than 100 on American college\u2064 campuses.  <\/p>\n<p>The\u2062 Chinese government has also infiltrated America\u2019s K-12 schools through Confucius Classrooms \u2014 an offshoot program of CI \u2014 sister school partnerships, and other\u2064 programs since 2009. According to\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/investigations\/little-red-classrooms-china-infiltration-of-american-k-12-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Parents \u2064Defending Education<\/a>, about 143 schools across \u200d34 states\u200c and Washington, \u2064D.C., have had some form of CI-affiliated programs. <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>The Impact on Education<\/h3>\n<p>As the overseas Confucius\u200c Institutes grew, so did the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nas.org\/reports\/outsourced-to-china\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaints<\/a>\u202fagainst them. Most critics focused on the management \u2062of\u00a0CIs\u2062 on college campuses \u200cand the restrictions they\u200d put on\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/imo\/media\/doc\/PSI%20Report%20China's%20Impact%20on%20the%20US%20Education%20System.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">academic \u200cfreedom<\/a>\u202fand\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20141012011729mp_\/https:\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/2014\/08\/06\/accounts-confucius-institute-ordered-censorship-chinese-studies-conference\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free\u2062 speech<\/a>. CIs have been noted to present students with only \u200cthe CCP-sanctioned version of Chinese \u2064history, which omits the CCP\u2019s \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/haley-blasts-aoc-over-israel-resolution-you-would-fit-great-with-the-anti-semites-at-u-n\/\" title=\"Haley slams AOC on Israel resolution: 'You align with U.N.'s anti-Semites'.\">human \u2062rights violations<\/a>, including persecutions of Christians and Muslims, and to\u200d avoid certain political \u200bevents such\u2062 as the Great Chinese Famine, the\u2064 Cultural Revolution, and the 1989\u200b Tiananmen\u200b Square Massacre. In\u2062 2020, the U.S. State Department officially\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/2017-2021.state.gov\/confucius-institute-u-s-center-designation-as-a-foreign-mission\/#:~:text=The%20Australian%20Strategic%20Policy%20Institute,currently%20chairs%20the%20Confucius%20Institute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">designated<\/a>\u202fCI \u201cthe Chinese Communist Party\u2019s overseas propaganda\u2062 and influence operation.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>While CIs on college campuses have attracted the most\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/controversial-confucius-institutes-returning-to-u-s-schools-under-new-name\/6635906.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">media attention<\/a>\u202fand\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/imo\/media\/doc\/PSI%20Report%20China's%20Impact%20on%20the%20US%20Education%20System.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alarmed<\/a>\u202fCongress, the\u200b American public paid little \u2062attention to the CCP\u2019s expansion of similar programs in K-12\u2062 schools. Thus, Parents Defending Education performed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-ex-trump-official-warns-delta-variant-really-is-different-the-unvaccinated-are-going-to-get-it\/\" title=\"Top Ex-Trump Official Warns: Delta Variant Really Is Different, The Unvaccinated Are \u2018Going To Get It\u2019\">valuable public service<\/a> by publishing its investigative report titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/investigations\/little-red-classrooms-china-infiltration-of-american-k-12-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Little Red Classrooms: China\u2019s Infiltration In American\u200b K\u201312 Schools<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The PDE report uncovers some very troubling\u2064 facts. Between 2009 and 2023, the CCP provided over $17 million to fund various Confucius Institute-affiliated programs in 143 K-12 schools in the U.S., including top\u200c high \u2062schools such as Thomas Jefferson High \u2063School for Science and Technology (TJ) in Virginia and 20 school districts \u2063near U.S. military bases. The report found that at least seven schools still operate Confucius Classrooms or similar programs.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>CCP Influence\u2062 in School \u200cDistricts<\/h3>\n<p>The \u201cFinancial exchanges\u200c between K-12 \u200bschools and the Chinese government range from a few thousand dollars to, in Thomas Jefferson High School\u2019s case, more than a million dollars.\u201d Furthermore, the PDE report unearthed TJ\u2019s ties to Tsinghua University High School \u2014 the high school affiliated with one of China\u2019s top military schools, Tsinghua University, the alma\u200c mater of the CCP\u2019s current leader, Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The \u200dreport found that CCP-affiliated programming and funding vary by school district and demonstrated \u200dhow sophisticated \u2064and persistent the CCP\u2019s \u2063influence campaigns \u200chave become. \u2063Hanban, a Chinese Ministry of Education\u2062 subdivision, managed CI and affiliated programs\u200c until 2021. Some\u2064 schools, such as Carver Middle School, became \u201cConfucius Schools\u201d by working directly with Hanban. <\/p>\n<p>Some school districts partnered with Confucius \u2062Institutes \u2062on college campuses nearby. For example, the \u2064Confucius Institute at St. Cloud University in \u200dMinnesota provided\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/meetings.boardbook.org\/Public\/Agenda\/1478?meeting=242902\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$65,000<\/a>\u202fin grants, equipment, books, and \u2063curriculum to support the Confucius Classrooms at the St. Cloud Area School District. Other \u200bdistricts \u201cmask Chinese government\u200d funding through third-party nonprofit \u2064entities.\u201d For instance, Highland Park Independent School District in Texas received\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0913221.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funding\u202f<\/a>from the International Leadership of Texas Global, a nonprofit organization, to facilitate its \u201cChinese core \u200bcurriculum.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Two U.S.-based organizations, \u2064the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/ED609566.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">College Board<\/a>\u202fand\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/asiasociety.org\/education\/update-asia-societys-chinese-language-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Asia Society<\/a>, worked directly with\u2063 Hanban to bring Confucius\u2062 programs\u2064 to American \u200duniversities and K-12 schools. The PDE\u2019s report noted that Asia Society was \u200ca key participant in establishing Confucius \u2064Institutes and\u2062 Confucius Classrooms until its relationship with \u2062the programs ended in June 2021.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>The CCP&#8217;s Foreign Influence Operation<\/h3>\n<p>Regardless of the outward variety of these CI-affiliated programs, they share one thing in common: They are CCP-funded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-rip-biden-for-abandoning-plan-to-track-chinese-influence-on-college-campuses\/\" title=\"Republicans Rip Biden For Abandoning Plan To Track Chinese Influence On College Campuses\">foreign influence operation<\/a> beachheads in our society. A Senate\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/imo\/media\/doc\/PSI%20Report%20China's%20Impact%20on%20the%20US%20Education%20System.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>\u202festimates that\u200c since 2006, \u201cChina has directly \u2063provided over $158 million in funding to U.S. schools\u200c for\u2064 Confucius Institutes.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The CCP\u2062 is willing to invest so heavily\u200c in CIs because it seeks to indoctrinate young minds with CCP propaganda and cast \u2062doubt on values we hold dear, such as free speech and the rule of law. The CCP learned from Mao\u2019s Cultural Revolution that to destroy a society\u2019s\u2063 culture and\u200d values, one must first destroy schools.<\/p>\n<p>The backlash against CIs in recent years has led many colleges \u200dand school districts to\u2064 shut down CIs and\u200b affiliated programs. As of June this year, the National Association of\u200c Scholars\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nas.org\/blogs\/article\/how_many_confucius_institutes_are_in_the_united_states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a>\u202fthat 111 CIs have \u2064closed\u2062 or are in the process of\u200c closing, and only \u206210 CIs remain open in the U.S. Amid \u200dall\u200b the controversies surrounding CIs, Hanban rebranded\u2063 itself and became \u2062the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nas.org\/reports\/after-confucius-institutes\/full-report#WhatAreConfuciusInstitutes?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Language Education and Cooperation<\/a>\u202fin 2021 but has continued to offer \u2062CI-like programs under different names.<\/p>\n<p>Some American universities and school districts \u200ccouldn\u2019t resist \u2064CCP\u2019s money either, even with \u2064all the \u2063risk it entails.\u2064 The National Association of Scholars\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nas.org\/reports\/after-confucius-institutes\/full-report#WhatAreConfuciusInstitutes?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a>\u202fat \u2063least \u201c28 American\u2063 universities have replaced \u200btheir CIs with\u200d a\u2062 similar program, and 58 have maintained close relationships with their former Confucius Institute \u200cpartner.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>Some schools\u2019 \u200binability to say\u2062 no to the\u2063 CCP\u2019s money and influence and \u2062the CCP\u2019s willingness \u200dand ability to continue to promote \u200dCI-like programs\u2062 in disguise present a\u200d consistent challenge to American policymakers and parents. We must remain \u200bvigilant and demand that schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations involved in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-chinese-communist-party-has-weaseled-its-way-into-americas-kindergarten-classrooms\/\" title=\"Chinese Communist Party infiltrates US kindergartens.\">education disclose funding sources<\/a> \u200bfor foreign language \u200dand\u200c cultural programs. <\/p>\n<p>When necessary, lawmakers must hold accountable schools that fail to report their\u2062 foreign funding sources by withholding federal and state funding.\u202fMeanwhile, parents must closely examine curriculums and textbooks providing \u201ccultural\u200b and language\u201d immersion programs and push back against overt and covert political indoctrination.<\/p>\n<p>We as a society must be willing to devote considerable time and resources to protect our education system from the CCP\u2019s infiltration. Make no mistake, the \u200dCCP \u2062is\u200c playing the long \u200dgame and\u2062 won\u2019t give up easily.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American parents with children in K-12 schools face numerous worries: ensuring safety, protecting innocence from explicit books, and stopping woke districts from diluting math curriculums. Parents Defending Education&#8217;s recent report highlights an additional concern: safeguarding against Chinese influence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":1988500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1988499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1988500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1988499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1988499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1988499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}