oceancalligraphy Posted September 27, 2014 at 05:26 AM Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 at 05:26 AM It looks like the University of Chicago will not be renewing its agreement with the Confucius Institute. The original agreement expires on September 29 2014. Official statement from the university http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2014/09/25/statement-confucius-institute-university-chicago Article from Inside Higher Ed https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/26/chicago-severs-ties-chinese-government-funded-confucius-institute I wonder what this means for the students and faculty at the university. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tianjin42 Posted September 27, 2014 at 05:46 AM Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 at 05:46 AM That's an interesting development. A few friends involved with the British Council and Goethe Institute were at pains to make clear that the Confucius Institutes are very different bodies. I think we are going to see a lot more of this. There are a number of universities uneasy with the current set-up and though the universities welcome what is often an injection of funding, this is essentially allowing the Chinese government some say over academic direction of the universities. See how this one develops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted September 27, 2014 at 09:54 AM Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 at 09:54 AM I came across an interesting article the other day which is worth reading by itself, but which also says that Jean Moulin University in Lyon closed its Confucius Institute last year. Bit of a backlash going on... Conf Institutes need to manoeuver more carefully I think, if they want to keep a foot on the ground in major (and not just small) universities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meng Lelan Posted September 27, 2014 at 08:09 PM Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 at 08:09 PM Having taught in a Confucius Institute that was set up at local public state university, this is a most interesting development which does not surprise me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonic_Duck Posted September 28, 2014 at 02:52 PM Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 at 02:52 PM Go on then, link us to the thread where you spilled all the gory details about your experience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meng Lelan Posted September 28, 2014 at 06:19 PM Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 at 06:19 PM You can go ahead and link it up. I don't think I even want to go find it and relive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceancalligraphy Posted October 2, 2014 at 04:10 AM Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 at 04:10 AM Wow. I had no idea Jean Moulin University in Lyon closed its Confucius Institute. That's one closed in France. Now the count of institutes to close in the U.S. is at two, with Penn State being the latest. It will close at the end of the year. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/01/us-usa-china-confucius-institute-pennsyl-idUSKCN0HQ4UZ20141001 This article has an explanation from a professor and previous Confucius Institute director: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/10/01/another-confucius-institute-close I'm not familiar with Hanban. When the articles refer to "Hanban teaching materials", does it mean materials (like textbooks) actually published by Hanban, or materials endorsed by Hanban? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Two Times Posted October 8, 2014 at 06:31 AM Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 at 06:31 AM And over in Toronto... http://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2014/10/01/tdsb_committee_votes_to_cut_ties_with_controversial_confucius_institute.html http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-10-07/china-s-soft-power-fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted October 8, 2014 at 09:08 AM Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 at 09:08 AM I think Meng Lelan is referring to this topic on experiences with CIs. I keep meaning to join the one here in Edinburgh, although mainly for the access to the university library... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceancalligraphy Posted December 22, 2014 at 04:36 AM Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 at 04:36 AM The BBC has an interview with the head of Hanban http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-30567743 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmayo Posted December 22, 2014 at 06:52 AM Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 at 06:52 AM Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceancalligraphy Posted April 27, 2015 at 01:21 AM Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 01:21 AM Students for a Free Tibet has launched a campaign against CIs. I first read about the campaign at Tibetan Review, which cited an article from HeraldScotland. The campaign website has more information about institutes that have closed CIs, as well as information surrounding the Toronto schools decision. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiana Posted April 27, 2015 at 05:24 AM Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 05:24 AM Thank you yst for bringing us the news. When I can sit down, I'll go through the thread with great interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceancalligraphy Posted April 27, 2015 at 06:13 AM Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 06:13 AM This YouTube discussion by Students for a Free Tibet may also be of interest. It's an hour-long recording of a google hangout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiana Posted April 30, 2015 at 09:54 AM Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 at 09:54 AM Mentioning of Tibet, I recalled while watching the documentary “Wild China: Tibet” on BB2 last week, I could not help imagining when China would make the tiny population (2.5 millions) of this country disappear by swarming it with billions of Chinese through some shady economic development and migration programmes. Compared to pandas, Tibetans may not be so lucky! Anyway, here is a webpage on Tibet in relation Confucius classrooms: http://freetibet.org/news-media/na/pressure-grows-china-sponsored-classrooms Amongst the universities that severed ties with the Confucius Institute from the foregoing posts, I didn’t see McMaster University in Canada, so here is the story for those who are interested: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/mcmaster-cuts-chinese-institute-worried-by-discrimination-1.1321862 Closer to home in Europe, there has been quite a bit of news about the 50-year contract signed with Hanban by University College Dublin. Have a read: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/ucd-academics-query-plan-for-model-confucius-institute-1.2178891 This is a very good example of how Hanban will try to make sure their partners would depend on them and suffer great penalties in finance or reputation in attempting to leave the partnership. What about the Confucius Institute in the UK? Watch this space and in the next few weeks I’ll bring some first-hand news on a different aspect of Confucius Institute, on how they have been manipulating & using local institutions to do the dirty work for them, as part of their strategy in “ensuring partner institutions to have very high stakes in the partnership”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiana Posted May 21, 2015 at 07:12 AM Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 at 07:12 AM Hi again, Since my promise in the above post to bring some first-hand news on the Confucius Institute's activities in the UK, I've partially posted the news in another, equally relevant thread but I thought I should mention it here in case some readers may have been expecting it. Here's the link to the relevant post: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/48499-academic-career-in-chinese/?p=369151 In the post linked to, I focused primarily on what China did, but there has been a suggestion that we seem to be too ready to accuse China of wrong-doings but to say very little about local institutions that take part and co-operate with China in such operations. In the case that I outlined, it indeed took three to tango: China's dishonest use of money and power for the replacement of academics in a foreign institution, local senior administrators who use this as an opportunity for dishonest personal gains and as a step ladder for advancement elsewhere, and the type of academics that are vulnerable and likely to be targeted in such operations. I'm aware that disclosing this type of information is not easy and not without risk, but in public interest I should take the courage and lay it all out in the open in the next few posts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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