The Chinese government approached North Carolina State University to establish a base at a major U.S. research institution that would bring Chinese professors to teach Chinese culture and language and offer accelerated master’s degree programs and study-abroad opportunities.
But N.C. State faculty would not hear of such an alliance. One professor vehemently objected, saying what was being offered was “dirty money.” Another called it a “very dangerous step to take, to even accept a penny of this money.”
Many said that under no condition would it be acceptable for the university to take money from a government that has “profoundly anti-democratic values.” As one diversity administrator put it, it would be like taking money from the KKK or the Nation of Islam.
And they’re right. The human-rights record of the Chinese government is abysmal. Freedom House ranks China near the bottom in the world in terms of political rights and individual liberties. The Heritage Foundation rates China “Mostly Unfree” in its Index of Economic Liberty. China allows very little to no academic freedom, religious freedom, freedom of speech and assembly, or even reproductive freedom. In China, women and girls, people with HIV/AIDS, minorities, religious believers, and political dissidents are frequently subject to all manner of critical human-rights violations.
In short, it’s no wonder that outspoken faculty at N.C. State want their university to have little to do with such a donor. Who can blame them?
Oh, goodness, it seems I’ve erred: the donor seeking to bring new academic programs to NC State to which the faculty so vehemently objected wasn’t Communist China. It was a conservative philanthropy from North Carolina. My mistake!
In fact, the university with ideological objections to program underwriters (who aren’t forced to give involuntarily, that is) is quite proud of its new association with the Chinese government, as this press release shows:
North Carolina State University announced today the grand opening of an institute that will enhance understanding of Chinese culture and language, strengthen the university’s ties with China, and provide opportunities to help North Carolina businesses understand and compete in the Chinese market.
NC State’s new Confucius Institute is the first in the southeastern United States and seventh nationwide. A partnership between NC State, Nanjing Normal University and the Office of Chinese Language Council International under the Chinese Ministry of Education, the institute will provide educational and cultural opportunities currently unavailable in the Triangle region.
NC State’s Confucius Institute will enhance intercultural understanding through a range of educational and outreach activities to students, teachers, businesses and community members. It will contribute to the expansion of Chinese language instruction at NC State and in N.C. public schools, as well as enrich cultural opportunities in the Triangle. The institute will be housed in the Jane S. McKimmon Center on campus….
