University review ‘should look at Confucius Institutes’

China expert John Fitzgerald wants the uni free speech probe to look into the influence of Confucius Institutes.

China expert John Fitzgerald.

China expert John Fitzgerald has called for the federal government’s probe into freedom of speech in universities to look into the influence of the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institutes on Australian campuses.

Professor Fitzgerald has told a forum in Sydney that it would be “a very good idea” for the review, being carried out by former chief justice Robert French, to look at the role of the institutes and the contracts they have with the 13 Australian universities that house them.

“The processes around which these contracts (with Confucius Institutes) have been entered into and the terms under which the ­institutes operate, clearly fall within such an inquiry,” he said.

Professor Fitzgerald, a former president of the Australian Academy of the Humanities who holds a chair at Swinburne University, has previously warned about loss of intellectual freedom in universities with Confucius Institutes.

While the institutes’ stated role is to teach Chinese language and culture, Professor Fitzgerald has said that the Chinese authorities have a say over who teaches classes and set clear limits on what can be said and done in the classroom.

The review by Mr French, announced on Wednesday by federal Education Minister Dan Tehan, will look at the protections for freedom of speech in universities. The terms of reference include examining the effectiveness of policies and practices which promote and protect freedom of expression and intellectual inquiry.

Professor Fitzgerald told the forum at the University of Technology Sydney that top Chinese government officials had made it clear that the more than 500 Confucius Institutes around the world were part of a strategic plan to build China’s soft power.