TUCSON — On Monday, the University of Arizona announced that Confucius Institute’s Global Chinese New Year Festival Show scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, at Centennial Hall has been canceled due to travel concerns about the novel coronavirus outbreak. The cancellation follows the news that a member of the ASU community has been diagnosed with the deadly disease.
The University of Arizona also announced that Global Chinese New Year festival activities are being postponed.
Did you know?
In August 2019, Arizona State University closed the Confucious Institute on their campus. ASU was one of many universities to close its Confucius Institute. The National Defense Authorization Act for the 2019 fiscal year prohibits universities from hosting an institute while also receiving funding for Chinese language study from the U.S. Department of Defense.
“We regret that we have to take this action, but it’s best to be careful at this stage,” said Liesl Folks, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Arizona in a press release. “Our thoughts are with the victims of this virus in China and here at home, and we’re hopeful that all the people working around the world to contain and control this threat are soon successful.”
Ticket holders are advised to “call the University of Arizona Confucius Institute at 520-626-5124 or contact the local Chinese organization from which the tickets were purchased.”