The United States said the programs are operated by the Chinese government as soft-power propaganda tools. (Archive)
Washington:
The US State Department said on Friday it ended five cultural exchange programs with China, calling them “propaganda tools of soft power.”
The Department said on its website that it had “ended” the Policy Makers’ China Educational Travel Program, the US-China Friendship Program, the US-China Leadership Exchange Program, the Trans-Pacific Exchange between the United States and China and the Hong Kong Educational and Cultural Program.
He said the programs had been established under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, a 1961 law signed by President John F Kennedy and intended to boost academic and cultural exchanges with foreign countries.
“While other programs funded under the auspices of MECEA are mutually beneficial, the five programs in question are fully funded and operated by the (Chinese) government as soft power propaganda tools,” the statement said.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the move.
Attempts to reach representatives for the programs designated by the State Department were not immediately successful.
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