Confucius Institutes at universities across England are under threat from new free speech rules, setting off urgent talks between ministers, vice-chancellors and regulators over the fate of the China-backed language and culture centres.
Universities fear that the new regulations imposed by the Office for Students (OfS) this month will cause legal headaches with their Chinese partners, including the government in Beijing, and could lead to some being closed.
University leaders claim they have been left in the dark by England’s regulator over whether or not they are breaking the new rules, which bar foreign governments from vetting staff employed at the institutes.
The 20 Confucius Institutes operating in England – including at the universities of Manchester, Coventry and Liverpool – are partnerships between each university, a Chinese university, and an arm of the Chinese state that provides funding. They offer Mandarin classes and promote cultural events but critics allege they also act as a Trojan horse within the education system.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it “welcomed a range of international partnerships with UK higher education” but that they had to comply with UK laws and regulations.
“It is for individual higher education providers to assess whether the criteria of existing arrangements would have the effect of restricting free speech and take steps to address that,” the DfE said.
Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, said the government wanted to ensure that universities were “places of rigorous debate” for all views.
Smith said: “Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated. The government has robust measures in place to prevent this activity, including updated powers and offences through the National Security Act.
“We are also working directly with the Office for Students to support universities in safeguarding free speech and tackling any form of harassment on campus.”
China’s embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.
The new guidance is likely to force the universities to rewrite agreements with the institutes or face sanctions for breaching the OfS’s free speech regulations in England, particularly new rules that punish universities involved with “a foreign-funded institute [that] imposes an ideological test” as a condition of employment.
One critical group, UK-China Transparency, says Chinese staff applying to work in the institutes have been asked to provide references to their “political attitude” and be vetted by a committee of China’s ruling Communist party.
A spokesperson for the OfS said: “Where universities or colleges enter into agreements with any country, they must ensure that they continue to uphold freedom of speech within the law and academic freedom. Where they cannot do this, they should immediately take all necessary steps to amend or terminate the agreement.
“Our guidance is clear, for example, that the imposition of any kind of ideological test as a condition of employment would be unacceptable.”
Several universities contacted by the Guardian declined to comment publicly. But university leaders said they have asked the OfS for more time to investigate and negotiate with their partners. A spokesperson for the OfS said: “Any institution not meeting their free speech obligations should take urgent action.”
A spokesperson for Lancaster University said: “Lancaster University is fully committed to upholding the right to freedom of speech for all staff and students. Along with our sector colleagues, we are carefully considering if there are any potential implications in the new guidance for our Confucius Institute, which plays an important role in our internationally diverse academic community.”
One university said that the situation was complicated by the OfS refusing to indicate which arrangements would be allowed under the new regulations.
A spokesperson for Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said: “UK universities are committed to upholding free speech and academic freedom. They work hard to protect these fundamental freedoms and meet significant legal duties in this area set out by the Office for Students.
“This commitment extends to the partnerships universities have with institutions around the world, which bring important economic and social benefits to the UK.”