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Criticism of Confucius Institutes
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Criticism of Confucius Institutes
The Confucius Institute (CI) program, which began establishing centers for Chinese language instruction in 2004, has been the subject of criticisms, concerns, and controversies during its international expansion.
Many such concerns stem from the CI's relationship to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities, giving rise to criticisms about undermining academic freedom at host universities, engaging in industrial and military espionage, surveillance of Chinese students abroad, and attempts to advance the Chinese government's political agendas on controversial issues such as Taiwan, and human rights in China and Tibet. Additional concerns have arisen over the institutes' financial and academic viability, teaching quality, and relations with Chinese partner universities.
Confucius Institutes have defended their establishments, comparing them with other cultural promotion organizations such as Alliance française and Goethe-Institut. However, unlike the Alliance française or Goethe-Institut, many Confucius Institutes operate directly on university campuses, thus giving rise to unique concerns related to academic freedom and political influence. A report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in February 2019 which reviewed 90 agreements establishing Confucius Institutes said "While 42 of 90 agreements contained language about the document being confidential, some were available online or upon request, and one-third of the 90 agreements explicitly addressed how U.S. school policies apply to the institutes." Some observers have noted that CIs are largely limited to teaching cultural and language programs, and the institutes' staff tend to see political and controversial subjects as human rights and democracy as outside the context of the mission of a Confucius Institute.
The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and is financed by the quasi-governmental Office of Chinese Language Council International (colloquially, Hanban), which is chaired by Politburo member and Vice Premier Liu Yandong, former head of the United Front Work Department. Hanban is governed by "a council of high state and party officials" drawn from a variety of party and state ministries including Foreign Affairs, Education, and the State Council Information Office (also known as the "Office of Foreign Propaganda"). Marshall Sahlins of the University of Chicago describes Hanban as "an instrument of the party state operating as an international pedagogical organization". The institutes operate in co-operation with local affiliate colleges and universities around the world. The related Confucius Classroom program partners with secondary schools and school districts to provide Chinese language teachers and instructional materials.
The Confucius Institute has grown rapidly from one campus in Seoul in 2004 to more than 400 worldwide in 2013, and opposition to the program "has grown almost as dramatically". Critics have accused CIs of having restrictive hiring practices and not conforming to western political ideals on issues such as the legitimacy of the Taiwanese state and origins of the Korean War.
In evidence of the "spectacular proliferation" of CIs, Lionel Jensen notes they have become so familiar in the United States a segment of The Daily Show made a parody out of a community group's opposition to the CI teaching Mandarin in a public school.
Confucius Institutes' stated missions are to promote knowledge of Chinese language and culture abroad, as well as to promote commercial and trade cooperation. In the context of the Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy objectives, the institutes serve as tools of cultural diplomacy intended to bolster China's soft power abroad.
Official Communist Party literature describes the Institutes in the context of Hu Jintao's soft power initiatives, designed to influence perceptions of China and its policies abroad. Li Changchun, the 5th-highest-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee, was quoted in The Economist saying the Institutes were "an important part of China's overseas propaganda set-up".
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Criticism of Confucius Institutes
The Confucius Institute (CI) program, which began establishing centers for Chinese language instruction in 2004, has been the subject of criticisms, concerns, and controversies during its international expansion.
Many such concerns stem from the CI's relationship to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities, giving rise to criticisms about undermining academic freedom at host universities, engaging in industrial and military espionage, surveillance of Chinese students abroad, and attempts to advance the Chinese government's political agendas on controversial issues such as Taiwan, and human rights in China and Tibet. Additional concerns have arisen over the institutes' financial and academic viability, teaching quality, and relations with Chinese partner universities.
Confucius Institutes have defended their establishments, comparing them with other cultural promotion organizations such as Alliance française and Goethe-Institut. However, unlike the Alliance française or Goethe-Institut, many Confucius Institutes operate directly on university campuses, thus giving rise to unique concerns related to academic freedom and political influence. A report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in February 2019 which reviewed 90 agreements establishing Confucius Institutes said "While 42 of 90 agreements contained language about the document being confidential, some were available online or upon request, and one-third of the 90 agreements explicitly addressed how U.S. school policies apply to the institutes." Some observers have noted that CIs are largely limited to teaching cultural and language programs, and the institutes' staff tend to see political and controversial subjects as human rights and democracy as outside the context of the mission of a Confucius Institute.
The Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and is financed by the quasi-governmental Office of Chinese Language Council International (colloquially, Hanban), which is chaired by Politburo member and Vice Premier Liu Yandong, former head of the United Front Work Department. Hanban is governed by "a council of high state and party officials" drawn from a variety of party and state ministries including Foreign Affairs, Education, and the State Council Information Office (also known as the "Office of Foreign Propaganda"). Marshall Sahlins of the University of Chicago describes Hanban as "an instrument of the party state operating as an international pedagogical organization". The institutes operate in co-operation with local affiliate colleges and universities around the world. The related Confucius Classroom program partners with secondary schools and school districts to provide Chinese language teachers and instructional materials.
The Confucius Institute has grown rapidly from one campus in Seoul in 2004 to more than 400 worldwide in 2013, and opposition to the program "has grown almost as dramatically". Critics have accused CIs of having restrictive hiring practices and not conforming to western political ideals on issues such as the legitimacy of the Taiwanese state and origins of the Korean War.
In evidence of the "spectacular proliferation" of CIs, Lionel Jensen notes they have become so familiar in the United States a segment of The Daily Show made a parody out of a community group's opposition to the CI teaching Mandarin in a public school.
Confucius Institutes' stated missions are to promote knowledge of Chinese language and culture abroad, as well as to promote commercial and trade cooperation. In the context of the Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy objectives, the institutes serve as tools of cultural diplomacy intended to bolster China's soft power abroad.
Official Communist Party literature describes the Institutes in the context of Hu Jintao's soft power initiatives, designed to influence perceptions of China and its policies abroad. Li Changchun, the 5th-highest-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee, was quoted in The Economist saying the Institutes were "an important part of China's overseas propaganda set-up".