Rishi Sunak’s U-turn on a pledge to shut down 30 Chinese state-sponsored Confucius Institutes in the the UK has been compared to “the scriptwriters for Yes Minister”.
The retreat, first reported by TalkTV, has been criticised by more hawkish Tory backbenchers, with former prime minister Liz Truss urging him to deliver on the language he used during last summer’s contest.
In his unsuccessful campaign – before he entered No 10 after winner Ms Truss’ disastrous mini-Budget sank her short-lived premiership – Mr Sunak had promised to close all 30 of Beijing’s institutes in Britain.
He also pledged to “kick the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) out of our universities”, declaring China “the biggest-long term threat to Britain”. But on becoming prime minister he adopted less hardline language, instead choosing to describe China in official speak as an “epoch-defining challenge” rather than a “threat”.
And on Wednesday, the government confirmed that a decision had been made that it would be “disproportionate” to ban the institutes.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith branded the government’s stance on Beijing “fundamentally wrong”.
He told TalkTV the U-turn was like “the scriptwriters for Yes Minister” drafting government policy.
A spokesman for the prime minister said of he U-turn: “We recognise concerns about overseas interference in our higher education sector, including through Confucius Institutes, and regularly assess the risks facing academia.
“We are taking action to remove any government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judge that it would be disproportionate to ban them.
“Like any international body operating in the UK, Confucius Institutes need to operate transparently and within the law, and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression.”
Meanwhile, Ms Truss, who was widely expected to adopt more hardline language on China during her short-lived premiership, used a speech in Taiwan to call on Mr Sunak to “urgently” enact the policies he pledged during their leadership contest.
“He was right and we need to see those policies enacted urgently,” she said.
“The UK’s integrated review needs to be amended to state clearly that China is a threat.
“Confucius Institutes should be closed down immediately.”
