Contact: Colin Mason, Population Research Institute, 540-305-9985

FRONT ROYAL, Va., March 28, 2012 /Standard Newswire/ -- Steven W. Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute (PRI) and a renowned China expert, will testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs today on the subject of the various "Confucius Institutes" being put in place all over the United States. These institutes, according to Mosher, represent a significant threat to U.S. national security and an attempt to enhance China's "soft power" globally.

"China's so-called 'Confucius Institutes,'" says Mosher, "are Trojan horses intended to indoctrinate young Americans into thinking that the Chinese Party-State is not a threat to its own people or to the world at large. Neither of these things is true. Set up on college campuses throughout the United States and funded by China, these Institutes have a chilling effect on academic freedom."

"While ostensibly about promoting the Chinese language and culture," Mosher continues, "these institutes are part of an effort by China to project 'soft power' and win the hearts and minds of the next generation of China watchers for political gain."

"Given that the Chinese Party-State does not share our democratic institutions," Mosher concludes, "nor our commitment to open markets, nor our understanding of human rights, its political and economic agenda is diametrically opposed to ours. Should we really be allowing a cruel, tyrannical and repressive regime to educate our young people?"

The hearing is before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and will be held at 2:30pm. It is open to the public. A copy of Steven Mosher's testimony is available at pop.org/trojan-horse.