Universities in China have actually started canceling entrance evaluations for overseas students, mentioning coronavirus issues, as the main city of Wuhan reported a brand-new cluster of cases for the first time considering that its lockdown was raised.

China’s prominent Peking University (Beida), Renmin University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University have actually all canceled examination requirements for overseas students in current days, according to statements on their official sites.

“To protect the health of the majority of candidates during the coronavirus pandemic … the University has taken the decision to cancel the written examinations for international students applying to being in an undergraduate program in 2020,” Beida stated in a statement on its website.

The cancellations will successfully make it far easier for international students to win locations at top Chinese universities, and is most likely connected to the judgment Chinese Communist Party’s continuous overseas propaganda effort, experts stated.

They stated the relocation is most likely part of the judgment Chinese Communist Party’s reaction to the current closure of Confucius Institutes run by the Hanban under China’s cabinet, the State Council, amidst issues over growing Chinese impact impacting flexibility of speech on schools far beyond China’s borders.

Calls to the Beida international student office sounded unanswered throughout office hours on Monday.

The statement came as the main Chinese city of Wuhan revealed its first cluster of coronavirus infections considering that its lockdown was raised last month.

Wuhan reported 5 brand-new verified cases, all from the exact same domestic substance, all of which had actually formerly been categorized as asymptomatic.

China’s overall tally of verified cases stood at 82,918, with 4,633 deaths, on Monday.

Propaganda factories

Education specialists stated there might be a less apparent factor for the cancellation of the entrance examination for foreign students.

Chinese education expert Shi Dajun, who is likewise a Beida alumnus, stated Chinese universities have actually mostly ended up being propaganda factories, instead of authentic centers of knowing.

“It is not just Tsinghua or Beida; many other schools make exceptions for foreign students, which is in fact a part of China’s overseas propaganda policy,” Shi stated.

“Now that the Confucius Institutes are running into obstacles, we are seeing them take a new direction.”

The concept, according to Shi, is that international students studying in China can soak up the ruling party’s message and go back to spread out Beijing’s story in their own countries.

“Chinese universities .. regardless of whether they are in the arts or the sciences … are moving more and more in the direction of functioning as propaganda units,” he stated.

Long-running method

A retired teacher at Lanzhou University who offered just his surname Cai stated that attracting overseas students to China becomes part of a long-running method by Beijing.

“We know that the government uses education as a form of soft power,” Cai stated. “It’s an opportunity for citizens of other countries who admire Chinese culture to come into contact with it.”

“They want it to take root in the hearts and minds of young people in Western and African nations,” he stated. “This is all about China moving out into the wider world; they are laying the groundwork by training up some human resources.”

Students who study in China under its Belt and Roadway facilities and loaning strategy are handed generous living expenditures without any tuition charges, along with enjoyable lodging, Cai stated.

“They are training up the next generation of pro-China people, and developing friendly ties with these countries,” he stated. “This is a very good foundation, and the government has spared no expense.”

According to Shi Dajun, Beijing had actually wished to spread its propaganda by means of the Confucius Institutes embedded on overseas schools, and by means of the Belt and Roadway effort.

“They had managed to brainwash some foreigners with their party-loving and patriotic education via the Confucius Institutes,” Shi stated. “The brains of the Chinese people have pretty much already been washed away.”

“Now they are keen to brainwash young people from overseas, and imbue them with an experience of China, its culture, and the great achievements of the Communist Party,” he stated.

Reported by Qiao Wish for RFA’s Mandarin Service. Translate and modified by Luisetta Mudie.

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