Confucius Institutes go beyond borders.
There are a few language and culture promotion organizations
such as Britain's British Council, France's Alliance Française and Germany's
Goethe-Institut, that aim to promote their languages and cultures to other
countries. Confucius Institutes, non-profit public institutions aligned with Chinese
government, seem to play a similar role. However, they do not claim to be
independent from their government and they operate within established
universities, colleges, and secondary schools around the world, providing
funding, teachers and educational materials, which has raised concerns over
their influence on academic freedom and even the possibility of industrial
espionage and also their attempt to penetrate China's soft power and cultural
influence internationally. As a matter of fact, one of their most influential politburo
leaders quoted, “the Confucius
Institutes are an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up”.
However, this
particular article indicates they might play some role to help restore the
frozen relationship between China and Japan.
Enjoy reading and
learning what this institute is about.
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