中国媒体批评美国有关孔子学院的决定

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.中国国家媒体批评美国国务院最近决定加紧对美国境内孔子学院教师的签证控制。

美国国务院上星期发布的一项指示说，正在审查孔子学院的学术资质。

美国国务院说，孔子学院必须申请获得美国方面的学术认证，并表示孔子学院的很多教师违反签证规定，必须在本学期结束后返回中国，重新申办签证。

中国几家国家媒体星期五发表社论，对美国国务院的这一举动提出批评。中国日报说，美国国务院的决定是冷战思维方式的结果。环球时报暗示，美国的这一举措反映了美国在文化方面的虚弱，惧怕来自中国的影响。

美国国务院发言人纽兰星期四对这一事件进行了淡化处理。她说，这个问题并不涉及孔子学院本身，美国政府支持美中两国人民之间的交流。

纽兰表示，目前的争论只在于孔子学院教师的签证身份是否正确，并表示任何人都不会因为这个问题而必须离开美国。

目前在世界各地有将近700所孔子学院，其中将近70所在美国。