Chapter 2. Literature Review
2.4 Confucius Institute (Organization; Critics)
2.4.3 Debates and Concerns
國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
and Shanghai’s East China Normal University (ECNU)51. The CI at the China Institute52, created jointly by the New York-based China Institute in America and the ECNU, is an example of a CI run in conjunction with a social organization).
3. The CI created and operated along with foreign corporations and target Chinese language students in the world of business. (E.g. London’s CI for Business. Funding for it has come from several multinational corporations including British Petroleum, Deloitte, HSBC. Tsinghua University53 and London School of Economics54 oversee its educational activities and operation.
According to paragraph 11 of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Confucius Institutes, the most important objectives and services provided by the Confucius Institute are:
1. Chinese language teaching;
2. Training Chinese language instructors and providing Chinese language teaching resources;
3. Holding the HSK examination (Chinese Proficiency Test) and tests for the Certification of the Chinese Language Teachers;
4. Providing information and consultative services concerning China's education, culture, and so forth;
5. Conducting language and cultural exchange activities between China and other countries55.
2.4.3 Debates and Concerns
Despite its rapid development, the Confucius Institute is facing a lot of challenges in nowadays world. As Zhe (2012) states, the most serious issue are concerns of the foreign countries that China by using the CI as a cultural tool might impose its influence
51 It is a comprehensive research university in Shanghai, China. Established in 1951, it is the first national normal university of the People's Republic of China.
52 It was founded in 1926 and is the oldest bicultural organization in America devoted exclusively to China.
53 It is a research university established in 1911 and located in Beijing, China. In both domestic and international university rankings, Tsinghua University has consistently been ranked alongside Peking University as the top institution of higher learning in mainland China.
54 It is a public research university located in London, England which specializes in social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1895.
55 Constitution and By-Laws of the Confucius Institutes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://english.hanban.org/node_7880.htm
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
on people. Zhe gives Japan as an example, saying that the government of the country is highly concerned about the influence and the expansion of the CIs, that is why it does not allow any state-run university to open the CI. All 13 Confucius Institutes in the country are affiliated to the local private universities.
Professor Ding in his book “Dragon’s hidden wings” (2008) in chapter named “To Build a “Strong” Language” is speaking about so called “linguistic imperialism” which was introduced by Robert Phillipson in 199256. It can also be called as “language imperialism”. According to the information on Encyclopedia Britannica, “language imperialism involves the transfer of a dominant language to other peoples. The transfer is essentially a demonstration of power--traditionally military power but also in the modern world economic power--and aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the language”57. It can be assumed that some countries might be afraid that with the rapid expansion of the Confucius Institute all over the world Mandarin Chinese could replace English as the new Universal Language at least in the Far East region. That is why Ding (p.125) states that Beijing’s efforts to popularize Chinese could be viewed “as a form of hard power wielding, imposing its cultural values on others”.
In June, 2014 an article named “The Debate Over Confucius Institute” appeared on ChinaFile website58. In this article a number of the American Association of University Professors expressed their point of view on the Confucius Institutes. There were so many reflections, that the article had to be divided into two parts. It turned out that the main concern of the majority of people is the fact that Confucius Institutes are sponsored by “an arm of Chinese state” (the euphemism for Hanban) and they are conflicting with academic freedom and traditions. Many professors say that unwillingness of the Chinese government to speak about Tiananmen, Tibet, Taiwan and other sensitive issues which undoubtedly make these topics prohibited also in CIs can be regarded as an evidence of lack of academic freedom and certain censorship which is unacceptable in democratic countries and in our enlightened age. Some professors also find the idea that China sponsors them with the teaching materials, stuff and teaching methods, is wrong, because they already have quite strong China or Asia studies departments with good performance.
56 Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford [England: Oxford University Press.
57 Knowles, G. (n.d.). English Language Imperialism: Year In Review 1997. In Britannica.
58 The Debate Over Confucius Institutes. (2014, June 23). ChinaFile. Retrieved from http://www.chinafile.com/conversation/debate-over-confucius-institutes
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Of course, not everyone is skeptical about the establishment of the CIs. Some professors say that China has great and rich culture and while the CIs are teaching people Chinese, introducing the country to the students, everything is fine. But if something goes wrong there is no necessity to abandon the whole institute, because sometimes only small adjustments are needed to fix a broken thing.
Not only had the lack of academic freedom and hiring policies become main concerns about the Confucius Institutes. There are ways more serious and deep problems like accusation of espionage for example. Some people believe that Chinese government is using the CIs as a spy tool. A top Sinologist and one of the program’s most outspoken critics from Philadelphia - Arthur Waldron – says that the CIs may play a key role in effecting China’s espionage agenda. He also thinks that they might be used as tools for keeping tabs on Chinese students who are studying abroad59.
The CIs are even sometimes called “Trojan Horses with Chinese characteristics.”
For example, the former chief of Asia-Pacific for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Juneau-Katsuya says that despite the fact that the education level provided by the CIs might be really good, there is still no doubt that this organization is used as a spy agency, thus they represent a particular threat for the Canadian government and the Canadian public60.
However, there are also doubts that Beijing would risk and jeopardize its investment by discrediting the Confucius Institute. As it has many other ways of gathering information. No security service has uncovered any such machinations since the creation of the CIs in 200461.
Opinions will always differ. While someone’s attitude towards the Confucius Institute is positive, others will remain highly critical. Being afraid that the presence of the CIs might be harmful to them some countries or universities are deciding to close the CIs, or in another words, simply do not want to renew their agreements with the institutes.
Among them are the following universities, which due to this or that reason did not want to continue their cooperation with the Confucius Institutes:
59 Fingleton, E. (2014, May 5). Is Stanford Collaborating With Chinese Propaganda? Just Asking. Forbes.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/eamonnfingleton/2014/10/05/is-stanford-collaborating-with-chinas-espionage-program/
60 Ghoreishi, O. (2014, October 14). Beijing Uses Confucius Institutes for Espionage, Says Canadian Intelligence Veteran. Epoch Times. Retrieved from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1018292-hosting-confucius-institute-a-bad-idea-says-intelligence-veteran/
61 Mattis, P. (2012, August 02). Reexamining the Confucian Institutes. The Diplomat. Retrieved from http://thediplomat.com/2012/08/reexamining-the-confucian-institutes/.
‧
agency established to gather cultural intelligence", though they apologized later for these words62) McMaster University (Canada; reason: concerns over hiring practices63
University of Lyon (France; reason: the Chinese director of the CI was
“taking his instructions directly from Beijing”, and the content of the courses poses a lot of questions64)
Université de Sherbrooke (Canada; reason: violation of academic freedom65)
University of Chicago (USA; reason: concerns that, Chicago was ceding control over faculty hiring, course content, and programming to Confucius Institute headquarters in Beijing66)
Pennsylvanian State University (USA; reason: goals are not consistent with those of Hanban67
Toronto District School Board (Canada; reason: “this partnership is not aligned with TDSB and community values, and its continuation is not appropriate”68
Stockholm University (Sweden; reason: no need in this kind of cooperation69)
62 Japanese university apologizes for calling Confucius Institute spy agency. (2010, June 12). People's Daily.
Retrieved from http://en.people.cn/90001/90782/7023278.html.
63 Bradshaw, J., & Freeze, C. (2013, February 7). McMaster closing Confucius Institute over hiring issues.
The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from
65 Montgomery, M. (2014, September 9). University teachers call for an end to Confucius Institutes. Radio Canada International. Retrieved from http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2014/09/09/university-teachers-call-for-an-end-to-confucius-institutes/
66 Redden, E. (2014). Chicago to Close Confucius Institute. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/26/chicago-severs-ties-chinese-government-funded-confucius-institute
67Confucius Institute update. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.la.psu.edu/news/confucius-institute-update
68 Toronto schools reject tie-up with China’s Confucius Institute. (2014, October 30). South China Morning Post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1628071/toronto-schools-reject-tie-chinas-confucius-institute
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
If we compare the overall number of the CIs opened all over the world with the number of the closed ones, we might see how on the one insignificant it is if someone does not want to continue its cooperation with the CI. One could say that there are still plenty of other CIs. However, on the other hand it is very important and dangerous. If someone does not want to be friends with you today could mean that tomorrow others can follow his lead. In this case Hanban needs to examine deeper the reasons which stand behind the decisions of the universities to close the CIs and do some “correction of mistakes”. That could help him to prevent precedents of this kind in future.