THE US State Department has ordered Chinese academics with a J-1 visa and teaching at the Confucius Institutes in the US to leave the country before June 30 and said their visas won't be extended, in a move that could disrupt the activities of these institutes。

　　In a policy directive issued on May 17, the State Department said it is reviewing the credentials of these Confucius Institutes which are university-based, Chinese-sponsored language and cultural centers, and said these institutes should get certification from the US government before carrying out teaching activities in American universities。

　　However, the directive did not mention where the Confucius Institutes can go to get the certification. Similar cultural establishments like Germany's Goethe Institute and France's Alliance Francaise don't have the certification either, People's Daily reported today。

　　Officials of the Confucius Institutes in the University of Maryland and George Mason University are bewildered by the decision and are communicating with authorities regarding the certification。

　　The Confucius Institute, named after the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551-479 BC)， is a non-profit institution aimed at promoting Chinese language and culture in foreign countries. There are more than 350 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius Classrooms around the world。

　　【新聞快訊】根據美國國務院5月17日發布的公告，目前在該國持有J—1簽證的孔子學院中國教師將不得不于6月30日離境。美方稱不會為他們續簽簽證;如果他們愿意，可回到中國再申辦適當的交流項目簽證。

　　令人最為不解的是美國官方要求對孔子學院進行所謂“認證”。公告聲稱：“目前，國務院正在審查孔子學院的學術資質……孔子學院必須申請美國的認證，才能在其所在大學開展教學。”美方稱，基于初步審查結果，“沒有明確證據顯示這些學院已獲得美國的認證”，而之所以需要美國認證，是為了確保教育符合并保持相關既定標準。

　　美國官方迄今從未說明孔子學院應該向誰認證。橫向比較一下，從未聽說德國的歌德學院、法國的法語聯盟等在美文化交流機構須得到美國認證。美國第一家孔子學院馬里蘭大學孔子學院及喬治·梅森大學孔子學院負責人表示，對這一公告感到困惑，校方均在就“認證”一事進行討論與溝通。

　　孔子學院以中國古代哲學家、教育家孔子(公元前551-479)的名字命名，是一個致力于在外國推廣漢語和中國文化的非盈利性機構。現在世界各地有超過350個孔子學院和500個孔子課堂。