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Canada’s New Brunswick to Shut Down Confucius Institute

Canada’s Education Minister in the New Brunswick government, Dominic Cardy, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), that he is planning to terminate the Confucius Institute in New Brunswick by June out of concern that teachers only teach what the Chinese Communist Party approves and the Institute presents a “one-dimensional” view of China. Cardy already sent the Confucius Institute a letter of intent to discontinue the program.

Cardy says he’s recently received five complaints from students who attended the Confucius Institute programs. Each told of topics in Chinese history that were off-limits to discussion, such as Taiwan’s recognition and Tibet. Cardy explained, “Their job is to create a friendly, cheerful, face for a government that is responsible for more deaths than nearly any other in the history of our species.”

New Brunswick is not the first case to remove the institute. In 2014 the Toronto District School Board voted to remove the institute from their schools following protests. McMaster University and the University of Manitoba have also removed the Confucius Institute from their campuses over freedom of education concerns.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 27, 2019
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/lf-02272019093950.html