THE US State Department has ordered Chinese academics with a J-1 visa and teaching at the Confucius Institutes in the US to leave the country before June 30 and said their visas won't be extended, in a move that could disrupt the activities of these institutes.

In a policy directive issued on May 17, the State Department said it is reviewing the credentials of these Confucius Institutes which are university-based, Chinese-sponsored language and cultural centers, and said these institutes should get certification from the US government before carrying out teaching activities in American universities.

However, the directive did not mention where the Confucius Institutes can go to get the certification. Similar cultural establishments like Germany's Goethe Institute and France's Alliance Francaise don't have the certification either, People's Daily reported today.

Officials of the Confucius Institutes in the University of Maryland and George Mason University are bewildered by the decision and are communicating with authorities regarding the certification.

The Confucius Institute, named after the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551-479 BC), is a non-profit institution aimed at promoting Chinese language and culture in foreign countries. There are more than 350 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius Classrooms around the world.


【新聞快訊】根據(jù)美國國務(wù)院5月17日發(fā)布的公告，目前在該國持有J—1簽證的孔子學(xué)院中國教師將不得不于6月30日離境。美方稱不會為他們續(xù)簽簽證；如果他們愿意，可回到中國再申辦適當(dāng)?shù)慕涣黜椖亢炞C。

令人最為不解的是美國官方要求對孔子學(xué)院進(jìn)行所謂“認(rèn)證”。公告聲稱：“目前，國務(wù)院正在審查孔子學(xué)院的學(xué)術(shù)資質(zhì)……孔子學(xué)院必須申請美國的認(rèn)證，才能在其所在大學(xué)開展教學(xué)。”美方稱，基于初步審查結(jié)果，“沒有明確證據(jù)顯示這些學(xué)院已獲得美國的認(rèn)證”，而之所以需要美國認(rèn)證，是為了確保教育符合并保持相關(guān)既定標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

美國官方迄今從未說明孔子學(xué)院應(yīng)該向誰認(rèn)證。橫向比較一下，從未聽說德國的歌德學(xué)院、法國的法語聯(lián)盟等在美文化交流機(jī)構(gòu)須得到美國認(rèn)證。美國第一家孔子學(xué)院馬里蘭大學(xué)孔子學(xué)院及喬治·梅森大學(xué)孔子學(xué)院負(fù)責(zé)人表示，對這一公告感到困惑，校方均在就“認(rèn)證”一事進(jìn)行討論與溝通。

孔子學(xué)院以中國古代哲學(xué)家、教育家孔子（公元前551-479）的名字命名，是一個致力于在外國推廣漢語和中國文化的非盈利性機(jī)構(gòu)?，F(xiàn)在世界各地有超過350個孔子學(xué)院和500個孔子課堂。