Zeng Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director, Volume 1

Challenges, Controversies, and Realities
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-981-969152-4
Verlag: Springer Singapore
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 206 Seiten

Reihe: Political Science and International Studies

As China’s flagship platform for cultural diplomacy and international engagement, the global expansion of Confucius Institutes has been accompanied by growing controversy—particularly in the West. This book—and the volumes that follow—is the first of its kind to demystify Confucius Institutes through the personal account of a director. Drawing on the author’s unique background as a Chinese national serving as a UK director and a scholar of Chinese politics, this book offers a rare and nuanced perspective on a deeply contested issue. During the author’s over six-year directorship, his Confucius Institute became an award-winning organisation, receiving recognition both internally and externally. At the same time, he led the Institute in overcoming a series of existential and structural challenges—from navigating the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and adapting to the dissolution of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, to responding to the UK’s then-ruling party’s campaign to ban Confucius Institutes.

This book offers behind-the-scenes insights into key leadership decisions, internal and external challenges, and the pivotal events that shaped this turbulent era. It also directly addresses the prevailing accusations against Confucius Institutes—that they operate as instruments of propaganda, geopolitical influence, or even espionage, and that they compromise academic freedom or surveil Chinese students abroad. These claims are critically examined through the lens of the author’s lived experience, exposing how political and media narratives in the West often amplify legitimate concerns while oversimplifying complexities and misrepresenting on-the-ground realities.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zeng, Jinghan

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Directing the Confucius Institute: the beginning, the success and the pandemic.- Chapter 3: Directing the Confucius Institute: the demise of Confucius Institute Headquarters.- Chapter 4: Directing the Confucius Institute: the political storm to ban Confucius Institutes in the UK.- Chapter 5: Allegations against Confucius Institute: Chinese propaganda and influence?.- Chapter 6: Allegations against Confucius Institute: suppressing academic freedom and conducting espionage?.- Chapter 7: Allegations against Confucius Institute: suppressing Chinese students?.- Chapter 8: Conclusion Chapter.

Über Autor(innen)

Jinghan Zeng is a Professor at City University of Hong Kong. Previously, he served as Director of the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University, leading a multicultural team of nearly 30 staff. He is the author of several books and over thirty peer-reviewed articles on Chinese politics.