It is worth noting that:

- Some people have spent considerable time and effort writing an entire long wiki page for "Criticism of Confucius Institutes".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Confucius_Institu...

- The "Reception and controversies" section of main wiki page for Confucius Institute is considered not neutral.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius_Institute#Reception_...

Seems acceptable to me. No need to search for hypocrisy, comparisons, etc as it's clear there are different values. So long as the actions are transparent (and I wish the reasons were too to avoid guessing), at least reasonable people can make up their mind about what approach is right or wrong. The constant search for moral equivalence is fruitless. That's where the propagandists find niches. Instead, just search for accuracy and make up your own mind about the rest.

The fact that Confucianism has been dutifully promoted and propagated by nearly every Chinese emperor, either insurgent-turned or self-proclaimed like the current one, attests that it's truly a powerful reigning tool.

Also Shang Yang's five principles of subjugating subjects: 愚民(idiotizing)，弱民(weakening)，疲民(exhausting)，辱民(demeaning)，贫民(impoverishing)。

Confucius Institutes are a bit more than merely promoting Confucianism. This was an interesting video by a westerner who is in China (often) and thus has to walk a fine line, but was able to subtext exceptionally well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tsXtk7psUc

Wonder how many of his Chinese fans will be cursing him for this one.

There is something diabolical about picking a group dedicated to healthy living as your living organ theft pool, too.

They are not promoting Confucianism. These institutes are an extension of state power projection outside borders and have questionable ethical standards when it comes to free speech.