IS the 10-year-old Confucius Institute in Trinidad and Tobago spreading Chinese propaganda?
Is the institute, which is based at the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies, promoting Chinese soft power and the communist party line?
Several European countries say the institute in their respective homelands are advancing the authoritarian leadership of Beijing and could threaten academic freedom.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has threatened to shut down all 30 institutes in his country and Germany and other countries are having a hard look at the relevant operations.
There are 500 institutes in more than 90 countries.
The UWI facility is described as a non-profit education institution to promote the Mandarin Chinese language and the country’s culture.
The institute is the second in the Caribbean.
German government ministers are insisting that “clear limits” be set on the operations of the institute, which is named for the philosopher who lived from 551 to 479 BC.
China provides funding and other support for research at the institutes.
There are 19 such facilities in Germany, and the country’s intelligence agency said that they are instruments of political influence.
The agency reported: “In the field of education and research, China’s activities and forms of cooperation threaten to undermine academic freedom.”
A few months ago, the German Minister of Education and Research called on the scholarly community to distance itself from the institutes.
The minister has since received support from colleagues and academics.
One politician said that “this is an international problem,” while another stated that the institutes are “instruments of influence for the Chinese Communist party.”
In Britain, Sunak has said that China is “increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.”
In recent years, Confucius institutes have been closed in the US and Sweden.
But the US authorities said that some facilities have been re-established under different names.
Member states of the European Union have been discussing the presence of the institutes in their respective countries.
In T&T, the institute has been touting its operations.
At a function in 2019, Director Dr. Beverly Ann-Carter said: “The institute speaks to working across languages and cultures to bring the world together.
“We go to schools and do cultural activities.”
