This week the Biden administration quietly withdrew a rule proposed by the Trump administration that would have required American schools and universities to disclose their partnerships with China's Confucius Institutes---which are fronts for the Chinese Communist Party.
Why would Biden want to keep those partnerships in the dark?
For the same reasons Obama did. And there may be a couple of other reasons as well.
Shouldn't parents be aware of the Institute's pervasive influence on their child's campus?
Apparently not in the mind of the Left.
Parents and grandparents: Be informed, not misled.
* We will give the latest update on the Trump Trial this morning on our live radio program.
The Trump administration submitted a proposed rule to the Department of Homeland Security on December 31, 2020, entitled: "Establishing Requirement for Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certified Schools to Disclose Agreements with Confucius Institutes and Classrooms."
About 500 K-12 schools and 65 colleges in the US have partnerships with the Confucius Institutes and they are operating on the campuses. The institute is also known as "Hanban" and is publicly affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education.
However, many of Hanban's directors are members of the Chinese Communist Party or have close ties to the Party.
Confucius Institutes are pervasive and in many cases are a dependable "support" partner with schools.
And they have become a direct conduit of influence in American schools.
On January 11, 2021, AXIOS reported that the Trump administration is trying to push through a last minute policy to heighten scrutiny of Chinese government funding in American education.
They note: "Just last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged universities to take seriously concerns of China's influence through funding and students programs. He went on to call for 'Confucius Institutes to close'."
On January 11, 2021, AXIOS reported that Trump's policy would require schools, K-12, and colleges that are certified to have foreign exchange programs to disclose any contracts, partnerships of financial transactions from Confucius Institute offshoot for any primary and secondary schools.
If they fail to report accurately, their certification would be denied.
Here's why: A report from the Senate's Select Committee on Investigations found that nearly 70% of schools receiving more than $250,000 from Chinese organizations related to the Chinese government did not report the funding as legally required.
Department of Homeland Security says this makes it impossible for the US government to discern the level of influence on China on the US education system."
Here's how China and its Communist Party's presence on our campuses is different from that of Germany, France, Spain, Britain, and other western countries.
Western countries erect their own stand-alone institutes that offer extracurricular courses, but China demands planting its Confucius Institutes inside existing colleges and universities.
China started this program in 2004 and has since poured hundreds of millions---some believe billions--of dollars into the program.
No one is sure how many are now operating, but in 2017 it was estimated there were 513 of them worldwide, with an emphasis on the United States. It's generally thought there are now at least 500 operating in the US. The refusal of our education complex to report clouds the issue. Which is exactly the point of my comments.
With mega-millions of dollars on the table, our schools have kissed the Panda and seized the opportunity. With the leftward drift of American education, it's a short and easy step to fall in line and march to the drum of the Chinese Communist way.
American universities have become dependent on full-tuition-paying Chinese students and desperate for funding, they go with the flow.
These "Institutes" operate as "nodes" in the deepening relationship between China and US universities.
Confucius Institutes then become a vehicle for Chinese propaganda---where the narrative taught your children is scrubbed and revised to support the Communist agenda.
China supplies teachers, at no cost to the university or school, to teach classes the material the Chinese government has told them to teach, distorting the content and pressuring American professors to censor themselves...or else.
Several universities, to their credit, have had enough and have closed their Confucius Institutes. But most can't cut themselves from the money.
Why would President Biden quietly withdraw Trump's proposed rule?
The Trump proposal was quietly withdrawn on January 26, without explanation.
A spokesperson for ICE, a component of DHS, confirmed the proposal was withdrawn on the 26th. The spokesperson would not discuss it or say why.
On August 13, Sec. of State Mike Pompeo said that the Confucius Institute was "an entity controlled by the PRC that advances Beijing's global propaganda and malign influence campaign on US campuses and K-12 classrooms."
Why would President Biden not only quietly cover for China, but refuse to ask our schools that receive millions of dollars from China to tell our government how much they are receiving.
Troublesome? I hope so.
The takeaway.
In preparing the Hebrew people to enter the Promised Land, Moses instructed them repeatedly in Deuteronomy to first be sure to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (5:5), be sure "these words are in your heart" (5:6) and, "You shall teach them diligently to your children" (5:7).
He says the teaching of your children must be a lifestyle---not just words. In Chapter 5:7:
"And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up"---be sure your children know whom we serve and why---teach them your biblical world view. If fact Moses tells parents they should "write God's laws on the doorposts of their house and even on the gates."
And there are warnings. "Beware lest you forget who brought you out of the house of bondage---the land of Egypt."
And in chapter 28 he warns that if we do not educate our children, others will (v 32). Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long, and there shall be no strength in your hand."
And v. 41: "And you shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.'
Clearly, China knows the path to conquering the mind of the young. I hope America's parents and families know God's path to liberty and freedom.
Our current president is clearly not going to be helpful in protecting our kids from this kind of invasion.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful. Be Diligent.