John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review

Senators Portman, Carper unveil report on Confucius Institutes at U.S. schools and universities

highlandcountypress.com, February 28, 2029; see also (1) (2) All but Six U.S. States Have at Least One Confucius Institute on University Campusesimage (not from article) from WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following an eight-month long investigation, today U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Tom Carper (D-DE), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), unveiled a new bipartisan report that details the lack of transparency in how American colleges and universities manage Confucius Institutes—which are located at more than 100 American colleges and universities and have received more than $150 million in support from the Chinese government. These Confucius Institutes are controlled, funded and mostly staffed by the Chinese government. The report also details China’s one-sided treatment of U.S. schools and key State Department programs in China, and documents the lack of oversight by the Departments of State and Education of U.S. Confucius Institutes. “T..

Diplomacy Podcasts

player.fm image from [Text:] Best Diplomacy podcasts we could find (Updated March 2019) [JB: Includes titles such as:]The Culinary CitizenBeer Diplomacy (MP3 Version)American Diplomat

Testimony of Jennifer Zimdahl Galt Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary [pertains to Confucius Institutes]

hsgac.senate.gov; on the controversy re the Confucius Institutes, see also (1) Testimony of Jennifer Zimdahl Galt [JB - see] Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations February 28, 2019 Galt image from Chairman Portman, Ranking Member Carper, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss China’s interference with U.S. educational activities. I would also like to thank my colleagues who join me here today. My testimony will focus on the State Department’s responsibility to regulate and monitor the participation of Chinese nationals in the Exchange Visitor Program, which is the Department’s international exchange program that makes it possible each year for over 300,000 exchange visitors from nearly 200 countries and territories to travel to the United States to participate in educational and cultural exchanges. The Bureau of E..

Statement of General Mitchell M. “Mick” Zais … [pertains in part to Confucius...

hsgac.senate.gov; on the current controversy re Confucius Institutes, see also (1) (2) Zais image from Statement of General Mitchell "Mick" Zais [JB - see] Deputy Secretary U.S. Deparment of Education (ED) Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Excerpt: Chairman Portman, Ranking Member Carper, and other distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. As a retired Army Brigadier General, whose national security background includes a tour of duty as the Pentagon’s Chief of War Plans, I fully understand the importance of ensuring that our institutions of higher education maintain their academic independence free from foreign malign influence. Concerns about foreign malign influence over, or access to, our nation’s colleges and universities have surfaced from time-to-time over the years in various parts of the Federal government. In response to those and other concerns, ove..

China Africa Relations on a New Height As CAPC 2019 Opens

Alaskai Moore Johnson, frontpageafricaonline.com uncaptioned image from article MONROVIA – The 2019 edition of the China Africa Press Center program has opened in Beijing China with a challenge to African Journalists to help erase any myth about china and report the true story about the People’s Republic of China and its people. Under the China Africa Press Center program, thirty four (34) African journalists have assembled in Beijing China for a ten month study in the People’s Republic sponsored by the China Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Association under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The thirty African Journalists have also being joined by sixteen (16) other journalists from Asia and the South Pacific under the China Asia Pacific Press Center program. Speaking Wednesday at the joint opening of the China Africa and Asia Pacific Press Center program in Beijing, the Vice President of the China Public Diplomacy Association Hu Zheng Yue described China as a brother and partner to Afri..

Tanzania Journalists take part in China-Africa Plan

africandailyvoice.com Image from article: Tanzanian President John Magufuli, whose country's journalist are set to participate in the programme. Photo: Tanzanian Media Johannesburg, South Africa (ADV) – Tanzanian journalists are set to take part in a 10-month programme organised by the China Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Association (CPDA), Daily News reported.This educational programme is expected to equip journalists with information that would enable them to deliver objective messages, promote peace and friendship and facilitate win-win cooperation.This programme which was launched recently, is set to take place in Beijing under the host China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC). It is an initiative of the China Africa Press Centre (CAPC) and China Asia Pacific Press Centre (CAPPC).CPDA Vice President, Hu Zhengyue, noted that China and African countries are both developing countries and have always been partners that help each other.“We are a natural community of ..

Chinese-funded institutes on U.S. college campuses condemned in Senate report

Benjamin Wermund, Politico, 02/27/2019; note mention of "public diplomacy" in the below article; on other recent article on the Confucius Institutes in the U.S., see also (1) (2) Image from article A scathing Senate report released Wednesday says that without major changes, so-called Confucius Institutes paid for by the Chinese government and operating on dozens of American college campuses should shut down. The bipartisan report by a Homeland Security subcommittee blasts the language and cultural centers at more than 100 U.S. universities as too strictly controlled and a threat to academic freedom. It accuses many American colleges of failing to disclose how much money they've received from the Chinese government — which the report says has spent more than $158 million on schools in the U.S. since 2006. Many colleges didn't reveal they've accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from China despite Education Department guidance that requires reporting of foreign gifts...

Paul Rockower – YouTube [pertains to public diplomacy/gastrodiplomacy]

youtube.com Executive Director / Levantine Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] Gastrodiplomasi alanına ve kavramsallaşmasına öncülük eden Paul Rockower, gastronomi ve dış politikanın kesişimi hakkında kapsamlı araştırmalar yapmış, yazılar yazmış ve dersler vermiştir. ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığı’nın American Music Abroad ve Next Level programlarını bir çok ülkede yönetmiştir. Cezayir’den Irak’a, Venezuela’dan Zimbabwe’ye kadar farklı ülkelerde kültürel diplomasi programları gerçekleştirerek ABD Diplomatik Merkezleri ile projeler geliştirmiştir. Hindistan ve Tayvan Dışişleri Bakanlıkları ile çalışan Rockower, Kamu Diplomasisi Yüksek Lisansı’na sahiptir.

Instead of Democracy Promotion, Sell Trumpism to the World

James Jay Carafano, nationalinterest.org, February 27, 2019; original article contains links; see also (1) "Long live Trumpism!" image (not from article) from Here's a blueprint for how Donald Trump can better explain and use his national security strategy. Donald Trump doesn’t believe in regime change or nation-building. He is skeptical of international organizations and institutions. He frets over allies that aren’t pulling their weight. But Trump is no isolationist, and he’s shown no interest in “leading from behind.” So what does Trump believe in? His catchphrase, “America First,” suggests that the president views his job as protecting the vital interests of America. But the slogan itself doesn’t have much explanatory value. Moreover, his large public persona, hyperbolic rhetoric and free-wheeling tweets often cloud an understanding of administration policy. This leaves the administration open to equally outlandish criticisms, with charges ranging from coddling dictators to i..

[NYT obituary of Amb Richard Gardner, “a strong believer in the study of foreign...

Gaia Pianigiani, The New York Times, Feb 27, 2019; original article contains links; see also (1) Image from article, with caption: Richard Gardner in 1977, the year he was appointed ambassador to Italy. He toggled between diplomatic assignments and a career as a Columbia University law professor. Richard Gardner, who in the late 1970s served as the American ambassador to Italy in a period of political violence there and concern in Washington about the Italian Communist Party’s growing strength, died on Feb. 16 at his home in Manhattan. He was 91. His daughter, Nina Gardner, said the cause was congestive heart failure. While his profile was probably highest when he was posted to Rome, Dr. Gardner was also an adviser to Democratic presidential candidates and a distinguished law professor at Columbia University. One candidate he advised was Jimmy Carter, who on becoming president in 1977 appointed Dr. Gardner to the Rome post. Until then, American officials had long supported Italy’s Chr..