Tag Archives: China

May 24, 2012, 12:53 pm

Diplomacy and Education – Universities as Pawns in a Larger Game

Chinese Confucius centers in the United States are at the center of a confusing decision recently made by the U.S. government. To the surprise of nearly everyone, the State Department announced that center staff teaching language courses in primary and secondary schools required a different visa than what many currently possess. The teachers have until the end of June to get the correct visas or they will be deported – mostly back to China. This situation occurs at an interesting time in the relationship between China and the United States, having just wrapped up the delicate diplomatic negotiations which led the Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng to come to the United States.

The specifics of the visa issues are outside of our expertise, but we note that the U.S. Department of State is the nation’s chief diplomatic agency and is obviously fully aware of the current situation with …

May 10, 2012, 4:06 pm

Can Universities Manage Risks to Academic Freedom in Foreign Outposts?

By Jason Lane and Kevin Kinser

A bit of a warning: This blog will touch on politics outside of the usual dimensions of our forum here. But we do so to address what is a constant issue for universities seeking to expand overseas: How do institutions manage risk in their foreign operations? The politics we are broaching involve the recent diplomatic tensions over Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng.

Chen Guangcheng with U.S. officials in Beijing.

Chen is a prominent civil-rights activist in China who has been under house arrest or in prison since 2005 for criticizing the enforcement of China’s one-child policy. Reports indicated that he was denied legal representation, his family was harassed, and his communication with the outside world was cut off. Chen’s dramatic escape from his home in Shandong Province to the U.S. Embassy in…