中國媒體批評美國有關孔子學院的決定

Chinese state media are criticizing a recent decision by the U.S. State Department to tighten visa requirements at Chinese Confucius Institutes in the United States.

The State Department last week issued a directive saying it was "reviewing the academic viability" of these Confucius Institutes .

The statement said the institutes would need to apply for U.S. academic accreditation. It also said many of the teachers at the institutes were violating the terms of their visas and would need to return home at the end of their terms to reapply for proper accreditation.

Several editorials Friday in Chinese state press spoke out against the move. The China Daily stated that the decision is the result of a "lingering Cold War mentality." The Global Times suggested the move shows the U.S. is "culturally weak" and is afraid of Chinese influence.

State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland on Thursday downplayed the incident. She said the issue was not about the institutes themselves and that the U.S. supports people-to-people exchange with China.

Nuland said the dispute is simply about whether professors at the institutes had the correct visa status and said that "nobody's going to have to leave the country" over the issue.

There are nearly 700 Confucius Institutes located around the world. Nearly 70 are in the United States.中國國家媒體批評美國國務院最近決定加緊對美國境內孔子學院教師的簽證控制。

美國國務院上星期發佈的一項指示說，正在審查孔子學院的學術資質。

美國國務院說，孔子學院必須申請獲得美國方面的學術認證，並表示孔子學院的很多教師違反簽證規定，必須在本學期結束後返回中國，重新申辦簽證。

中國幾家國家媒體星期五發表社論，對美國國務院的這一舉動提出批評。中國日報說，美國國務院的決定是冷戰思維方式的結果。環球時報暗示，美國的這一舉措反映了美國在文化方面的虛弱，懼怕來自中國的影響。

美國國務院發言人紐蘭星期四對這一事件進行了淡化處理。她說，這個問題並不涉及孔子學院本身，美國政府支持美中兩國人民之間的交流。

紐蘭表示，目前的爭論只在於孔子學院教師的簽證身份是否正確，並表示任何人都不會因爲這個問題而必須離開美國。

目前在世界各地有將近700所孔子學院，其中將近70所在美國。