As Confucius Institutes — nonprofit branches that fund Chinese language and culture learning — spread to universities around the world, Penn is reconsidering its 2009 decision to reject them. … CIs, which are affiliated with the Chinese government’s Ministry of Education, have garnered controversy since they began in 2004 over issues of academic freedom and the Chinese government’s involvement. Academic programs affiliated with CIs at Stanford University — which received $4 million from this fund — may not include discussion on issues such as Tibet. …