Australian universities face probe over China deals

Australian universities are being investigated over their contracts with Chinese-state run Confucius Institutes, officials said yesterday, amid fresh revelations over the scope of Beijing’s control of teaching in the centres.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the government was looking at whether deals between thirteen Australian universities and the Confucius Institutes breach new foreign interference laws.

The organisation -- which has been likened to France’s Alliance Francaise, Spain’s Instituto Cervantes and the British Council -- teaches students about Chinese language and culture.

However critics say the classes ofter a selective view of Chinese life -- purposely avoiding sensitive topics such as the Tiananmen Square crackdown or Tibet.

A 2018 study by German academic Falk Hartig found that 50 Confucius Institutes in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas had a “clear agenda to present an apolitical version of China”.

Australia’s government has pressed universities to register the institutes -- run by China’s ministry of education -- under new laws to track foreign actors seeking to influence Australian politics and governance.

Porter said his office has been “undertaking inquiries with a number of universities over recent months to ascertain whether certain arrangements should be registered” and meeting Confucius Institutes’ representatives.