I'm reading the book Charm Offensive: China's Soft Power Is Transforming The World because this soft power discussion has apparently been going on for quite a while, and I want to know more about it. I haven't finished the book yet so I'm not going to talk about it here. What I'm interested to talk about, though, is how the Chinese government is using the Confucius Institute (CI) as a soft power tool, and how Western countries perceive it.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the project, allow me to give a brief intro here. The CI is a language and cultural education center financed by the Chinese government via the Office of Chinese Language International (Hanban), an executive arm of the Minstry of Education. The CI is somewhat similar to the British Council and Alliance Francaise. The key difference is that the CI usually partners with a foreign institution and a Chinese university, so that the foreign institution will provide program development, the Chinese university to send faculty, and Hanban to give financial support.
The first CI was opened in Seoul, Korea in November 2004. Since then, CI's have been sprouting from all corners of the Earth: Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The original goal of Hanban is to open up 100 CI's by 2010. However, the response has been so overwhelming that right now, there are already over 150 CI's around the globe, 20 of them in the U.S.
As a Chinese, I found this very encouraging. But some critics in the West think that China is using this as a soft power tool to win over the world. There has been media reports in Canada suggesting that the CI is one of China's many spy operations, and that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had confirmed that they're looking closely at China's activities in Canada. In other Western countries, some people claim that the CI is a meticulously calculated soft power project of China's. Some even go on to say that universities in the West are giving in their integrity for the financial support.
Say what?
First of all, China is not the first nor is it the only country to set up cultural education centers in foreign countries. Like I mentioned earlier, the Brits and the French are doing this, too. So how come this conspiracy theory only applies to China? To be fair, all the CI's are in partnership with foreign instittutions. If there is no partner, the project does not work. And, if this is really China's spy operation, would anyone be stupid enough to "sell" their own country like that? And if someone really does betray their country, shouldn't that person also be to blame?
As for those who give up their integrity for money, well, that's probably half true. It takes fundings to run new programs, which, especially in the case of public universities, is always hard to come by. And, since the demand of Chinese language courses are in such high demands, it is only natural for universities to create and expand their Chinese class offerings. It would be really hard for administrators to say no to free money. Integrity? It's a hard balancing act.
My only regret on this is that if the excessive money that China is pouring into these countries only winds up in negative criticism, Beijing might as well send that chunk of money to the extremely poor in the farming villages all over China.
All these so-called soft power tools are no more than PR stunts from the central government. Beijing realizes that the negative image China has overseas, and so they're trying to do something about it. Since everybody is saying China is the next Super Power, they can't just let their country's name go down the drain.
From a PR perspective, China is really doing the right thing. From politicians to movie stars, automobile to designer labels, who is not trying hard to get good PR? China is doing exactly that. Whether or not you like it, it's up to you. And, hey, it's not like it's the first time that China is playing propaganda. So why the shock?
Isn't America also a fan of soft power? Hollywood and Disney are using their soft power every day. The only problem is Bush's negative image has ruined all their good work.
It's too early to say if China's soft power is working. Time will definitely tell.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the project, allow me to give a brief intro here. The CI is a language and cultural education center financed by the Chinese government via the Office of Chinese Language International (Hanban), an executive arm of the Minstry of Education. The CI is somewhat similar to the British Council and Alliance Francaise. The key difference is that the CI usually partners with a foreign institution and a Chinese university, so that the foreign institution will provide program development, the Chinese university to send faculty, and Hanban to give financial support.
The first CI was opened in Seoul, Korea in November 2004. Since then, CI's have been sprouting from all corners of the Earth: Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The original goal of Hanban is to open up 100 CI's by 2010. However, the response has been so overwhelming that right now, there are already over 150 CI's around the globe, 20 of them in the U.S.
As a Chinese, I found this very encouraging. But some critics in the West think that China is using this as a soft power tool to win over the world. There has been media reports in Canada suggesting that the CI is one of China's many spy operations, and that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had confirmed that they're looking closely at China's activities in Canada. In other Western countries, some people claim that the CI is a meticulously calculated soft power project of China's. Some even go on to say that universities in the West are giving in their integrity for the financial support.
Say what?
First of all, China is not the first nor is it the only country to set up cultural education centers in foreign countries. Like I mentioned earlier, the Brits and the French are doing this, too. So how come this conspiracy theory only applies to China? To be fair, all the CI's are in partnership with foreign instittutions. If there is no partner, the project does not work. And, if this is really China's spy operation, would anyone be stupid enough to "sell" their own country like that? And if someone really does betray their country, shouldn't that person also be to blame?
As for those who give up their integrity for money, well, that's probably half true. It takes fundings to run new programs, which, especially in the case of public universities, is always hard to come by. And, since the demand of Chinese language courses are in such high demands, it is only natural for universities to create and expand their Chinese class offerings. It would be really hard for administrators to say no to free money. Integrity? It's a hard balancing act.
My only regret on this is that if the excessive money that China is pouring into these countries only winds up in negative criticism, Beijing might as well send that chunk of money to the extremely poor in the farming villages all over China.
All these so-called soft power tools are no more than PR stunts from the central government. Beijing realizes that the negative image China has overseas, and so they're trying to do something about it. Since everybody is saying China is the next Super Power, they can't just let their country's name go down the drain.
From a PR perspective, China is really doing the right thing. From politicians to movie stars, automobile to designer labels, who is not trying hard to get good PR? China is doing exactly that. Whether or not you like it, it's up to you. And, hey, it's not like it's the first time that China is playing propaganda. So why the shock?
Isn't America also a fan of soft power? Hollywood and Disney are using their soft power every day. The only problem is Bush's negative image has ruined all their good work.
It's too early to say if China's soft power is working. Time will definitely tell.
2 comments:
Do I look like a spy? My colleague was questioned if you're a spy when he entered this country.
readandeat,
Well, you'll have to send me your picture & I can tell you if you look like a spy :)
But, yeah, it's always the same old story - if you're female, they think you're coming here to get a husband; if you're male, they think you're here for the information...
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