McMaster University, in Ontario, will close its Confucius Institute this summer due to concerns about its Chinese partner’s hiring practices, The Globe and Mail reported. A former instructor at McMaster’s Confucius Institute recently issued a complaint with the province's Human Rights Tribunal alleging that the university was “giving legitimization to discrimination” because her contract with Hanban – the Chinese government entity that sponsors the institutes – prohibits her participation in Falun Gong. 

The number of Confucius Institutes -- centers of Chinese language and culture education based on university campuses -- has increased rapidly worldwide, but critics raise concerns about the degree to which the Chinese government exercises control over curricular matters (including through the hiring of instructors).