Rishi Sunak backtracks on promise to ban Confucius Institutes in Britain

In the latest sign of the UK prime minister trying to mend ties with Beijing, Rishi Sunak has gone back on his promise to ban Confucius Institutes from operating in Britain.

His retreat was criticized by former Prime Minister Liz Truss who gave a speech in Taiwan on Wednesday in which she urged Sunak to explicitly name China as a “threat”.

However, Sunak has been seeking to improve economic ties with China, and Downing Street acknowledged that the closure of Beijing’s cultural and language outposts in Britain would be “disproportionate”.

British officials know that any move against Confucius institutions will certainly provoke retaliation by Beijing, including against the British Council, a public body that provides cultural services around the world.

Sunak claimed during his first campaign to become Tory leader last year that China was “infiltrating” British universities and that he would ban Confucius Institutes if he became prime minister.

Institutes are Chinese organizations that operate around the world and run Mandarin language courses at universities and schools as well as cultural programs. There are 30 Confucius Institutes operating in the UK at universities including Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton. Some Confucius Institutes are also involved in providing Mandarin lessons in schools, in a program funded by the Department of Education.

Truss, speaking at the Prospect Foundation in Taiwan, drew attention to Sunak’s aggressive language in last summer’s Tory leadership contest – which she won – and said she should follow through on her promises.

“Confucius Institutes in the UK should be closed immediately. Instead the service can be provided by organizations with the support of Hong Kong citizens and Taiwanese citizens who have freely come to the UK.

But Downing Street said: “We are taking action to remove all government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judge that banning them would be inconsistent.

“Like any international body operating in the UK, Confucius Institutes are required to operate transparently and within the law and in full commitment to our values ​​of openness and freedom of expression.

“We recognize concerns about foreign interference in our higher education sector, including Confucius Institutes, and regularly assess the risks facing education.”

Sunak is seeking to limit any security risks posed by China to Britain’s industrial supply chains, but at the same time seeking to strengthen economic ties in other areas.

This month Lord Dominic Johnson, the trade minister, was flown to Hong Kong by Sunak – the first UK minister to visit the former British territory since 2018.

The Chinese embassy in London called Truss’ visit to Taiwan “a dangerous political stunt”, saying it would do “nothing but harm” to the UK.

The UK has been relatively cautious in its crackdown on Confucius Institutes: according to the National Association of Scholars, a lobby group, there were 13 Confucius Institutes in the US in March, 108 of which were closed or in the process of closing, although some have been renamed. was given .