The Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported on May 14 that a spokesman for the Austrian military confirmed that civil servants have taken Chinese language courses at the Confucius Institute. In exceptional cases, teachers from the Confucius Institute also came to teach at an Austrian military base, such as the Theresian Military Academy in the Wiener Neustadt, a city south of Vienna.

Richard Trappl, the 70-year-old Austrian director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna, wrote to the newspaper that “the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna can be considered as a language intermediary agency, such as the Cervantes Institute or the Berlitz Language School.” He declined multiple interview requests from the reporter. The newspaper reported that officials from the Austrian military also receive Chinese language training at the controversial institution. Sweden, also a member of the European Union, closed its last Confucius Institute back in April last year. Universities in the United States, Germany and Australia have also recently ended, suspended or renegotiated their cooperation with Confucius Institutes.

A spokesman for the Austrian military confirmed to the newspaper that officers are taking Chinese language courses at the Confucius Institute. In exceptional cases, CI teachers also have come to teach at the premises of the armed forces, for example at the Theresian Military Academy in the city of Wiener Neustadt. The newspaper mentioned that Austrian officers started to learn the Chinese language in 1997, when one military officer was sent to Beijing. At that time there was no Confucius Institute.

Beijing Foreign Studies University and the University of Vienna jointly established the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna on September 25, 2006. It was the first Confucius Institute in the country,

In the past two years, two Austrian military employees received language training from the Confucius Institute and paid 7,900 euros. Several Sinologists told the newspaper that, even without the Confucius Institute, there are enough highly qualified native-speaking teachers in Vienna to conduct language courses on this scale.

In addition to the Austrian military, the Confucius Institute also taught at the country’s Academy of Diplomats. While the Austrian Foreign Ministry recruits future diplomats from the Academy, it has not sent staff to the Confucius Institute for language training. A spokesperson for the ministry said, “In line with the political positioning of the EU, Austria sees the People’s Republic of China not only as a partner and economic competitor, but also as a strategic adversary that advocates alternative models of governance.”

Source: Radio France International, May 16, 2021
https://rfi.my/7Ots.T

According to a German TV station ARD Fernsehenin, there is a provision in the proposed EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) which provides that, in the future, only Chinese citizens can head Germany’s foundations in China.

Foreign foundations and Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) face a lot of difficulties in China because the authorities place severe restrictions on what they can do. This provision is an article in the appendix of the Agreement on Investment. The German foundations in China told ARD Fernsehenin’s studio in Beijing that they were concerned about this and that the provision is “confusing” and “threatening.”

Germany’s Reinhard Bütikofer, the chairman of the European Parliament’s China delegation and MEP (member of the European Parliament) for the German Green party Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen, called the provision “scandalous.” The MEP, who China recently sanctioned, said, “When Chinese citizens have to lead the work of a German political foundation or business association, the Communist Party effectively establishes the direction of its work.”

The foundations were surprised by the provision in Appendix II of the agreement. The appendix was supposed to regulate the company’s access to the market. A representative of a foundation said that the clause seemed to have “fallen from the sky.” In particular, the stipulation that only Chinese citizens can hold management positions in foundations is stricter than the regulations on NGOs that were introduced in 2017.

Under the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the EU and China reached agreement in principle on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment at the end of December. The agreement is currently frozen due to the sanctions that China imposed on multiple members of the European Parliament.

Source: Radio France International, May 13, 2021
https://rfi.my/7ON3.T

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported from New Delhi that Chinese workers in India have complained about not being able to return home. Without making a public announcement, the Chinese government quietly asked the Indian government not to issue travel permits to Chinese workers. This indirectly resulted in Chinese workers in India being banned from returning by air. Mr. Zhang, a Chinese citizen working in the Indian technology industry, confirmed this. He said he was not able to obtain an e-pass from the Indian government, even if he provided all the required documents. Another manager working for a Taiwanese firm suffered the same experience. Sun Weidong, the Chinese Ambassador to India, said in a media interview that the Chinese Embassy had frequent communications with Chinese citizens in India. Reporters in New Delhi from the Central News Agency (CNA, the largest news agency in Taiwan) contacted the Chinese Embassy. No one took the phone call, including the Media Relations section and the Consular Section. Taiwan and South Korea are arranging evacuation planes to bring their citizens home. Japan already did so. However, due to the border military conflicts between India and China, the number of Chinese citizens in India had significantly declined.

Source: UDN, May 6, 2021
https://udn.com/news/story/120944/5438355