What restrictions does the U.S. J- 1 visa impose on the Confucius Institute? If it is an F- 1 visa, will it be affected?

This announcement, signed by the State Council, USA, has been sent to the Confucius Institute in the United States, claiming that although the Confucius Institute may be conducive to promoting cultural exchanges, its activities must conform to correct communication norms and follow relevant laws and regulations. Professors, research scholars, short-term visiting scholars, or college students are not allowed to teach in public and private primary and secondary schools, otherwise it will violate the laws and regulations on exchange and visiting programs; Chinese courses can only be arranged in certification institutions above technical secondary school; Moreover, professors with J- 1 visas can only teach in the foreign languages departments of these institutions.

J- 1 Visa is a non-immigrant visa, which is issued to all kinds of foreigners who come to the United States to participate in the exchange visitor program approved by the State Council. Our reporter learned that at the beginning of this year, American officials had investigated the situation of J- 1 visa holders.

The most puzzling thing is that American officials require the so-called "certification" of Confucius Institutes. The announcement said: "At present, the State Council is reviewing the academic qualifications of Confucius Institutes ... Confucius Institutes must apply for accreditation from the United States before they can carry out teaching in their universities." According to the US, based on the preliminary examination results, "there is no clear evidence that these colleges have been recognized by the United States"; The reason why American certification is needed is to ensure that education meets and maintains relevant established standards.

Insiders told reporters that the Confucius Institute itself does not count as credits and does not grant degrees. In other words, the Confucius Institute does not have the premise of certification; So far, American officials have never explained to whom the Confucius Institute should be accredited. In horizontal comparison, cultural exchange institutions in the United States, such as the Goethe Institute in Germany and the French Union, do not need American certification. The heads of the first Confucius Institute in the United States, the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland and the Confucius Institute at George Mei Sen University told reporters that they were puzzled by this new requirement in the United States, and the schools were discussing and communicating about "accreditation".

This announcement is obviously an attack on the Confucius Institute. Confucius Institutes all over the United States expressed "surprise" and "unusual" and began to discuss how to deal with it.

Public opinion pointed out that people don't understand why the State Council suddenly introduced such regulations. "After all, the Confucius Institute has been on American campus for nearly 10 years." . As the head of Hanban pointed out, the purpose of Confucius Institute is to help people all over the world learn Chinese, understand China culture, strengthen educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and foreign countries, and enhance friendship between Chinese and foreign people.

The Confucius Institute in the United States was established voluntarily by the United States, and all the help provided by the headquarters to the Confucius Institute, including sending volunteers, was requested by the United States. China volunteers overcome all kinds of difficulties and serve enthusiastically, which is widely welcomed by their schools and parents. In the process of co-hosting the Confucius Institute, Chinese and American universities have made great achievements hand in hand and made important contributions to promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States.

Confucius Institutes have settled in more than 350 educational institutions in 106 countries, and Confucius classrooms in primary and secondary schools have developed faster, reaching more than 500 now. Since the University of Maryland, as the first university in the United States, established the Confucius Institute in cooperation with Nankai University in China at the end of 2004, the number of Confucius Institutes in primary and secondary schools in the United States has reached 8 1, and there are more than 300 Confucius classrooms, including Confucius Institutes 127.

However, there are some political forces in American society. They have been accusing the Confucius Institute and constantly discrediting its teaching activities. On March 28th this year, when the Special Committee on Foreign Affairs Supervision and Investigation of the United States Congress held a hearing on "China's diplomatic cost", Rep. Dana Rohrbacher accused China of "propaganda" through private media and public education.

Dissemination of American public values

On the 22nd, Professor Gemano of the University of Virginia, doctoral students mcgrath and Robinson all said in an interview that learning Chinese is of great significance for enhancing exchanges and understanding between the people of the United States and China.

Teacher Wei Wei from China teaches Chinese in grades one to five at John Eaton Primary School. She told reporters that parents very much hope that the school can continue to provide Chinese education, and other teachers in the school also cooperate with Chinese teaching, because they realize that China's economy is developing rapidly and Chinese will be a very useful communication tool.

Mrs. Rudes, the mother of Vivian student Liberty, told reporters that there are not many primary and secondary schools offering Chinese courses in Washington. She and her husband worked hard to find a primary school offering Chinese courses for their daughter. Mrs. Ludes and other parents have said that their children like Chinese very much, and Mr. Wei Wei's teaching level is very high. I hope she can continue to teach at school.

A person in charge of the Confucius Institute at George W. Mei Sen University expressed the hope that the new regulations issued by the State Council would not have political considerations. After all, President Obama's "Top 100,000 Plan" to send overseas students to China also encourages American students to learn Chinese.

The head of the Confucius Institute Headquarters pointed out that China and the United States have established a "people-to-people exchange mechanism", and the "100,000 Plan" is one of the important contents. The government of China has given strong support to this. In order to help implement the plan, Hanban sponsored 6,543,800 American school teachers and students to come to China. And the service provider who helped recruit the 65438+100000 people was the China teacher who asked the State Council to leave the country on June 30th!

Our reporter has learned that the presidents of American universities are very disgusted with this announcement signed by the State Council, and think that it is interfering with the teaching autonomy of schools. They are in contact and consultation with the State Council. Faced with strong doubts, the State Council officials will go to the University of Maryland on 23rd to have face-to-face communication with the leaders of the University of Maryland and Confucius Institute.