Pentagon designates Confucius Institutes a national security threat

Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon dismantled 80 ‘propaganda cells’ operating nether caller names astatine 30 universities.

The United States Department of Defense has designated Confucius Institutes, Chinese-funded taste centres connected assemblage campuses, arsenic a menace to US nationalist security.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the determination connected Friday successful a video posted connected societal media, saying the Pentagon added the organisations to its database of institutions that endanger nationalist security.

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Washington has agelong accused the centres of serving arsenic Chinese propaganda tools and has taken steps to ace down connected them.

Hegseth said Confucius Institutes had operated successful disguise aft being restricted by Congress, calling them “sleeper organisations”.

“It turns retired that 80 caller propaganda cells crossed 30 universities had popped up utilizing antithetic names and antithetic charters, but with the aforesaid mission: to bargain intelligence spot and to infiltrate the minds of American students,” helium said.

In the video, Hegseth said that Chinese government-backed taste programmes had infiltrated universities and reappeared successful caller guises contempt legislature restrictions.

Over the past 2 months, the Pentagon has “systematically dismantled each azygous 1 of these organisations”, helium said.

The Chinese embassy successful Washington did not respond to Reuters’ petition for comment.