A dispute about the immigration status of Chinese teachers at Confucius institutes on U.S. university campuses was resolved on May 25 after a 24-hour consultation between officials from the Chinese embassy and the U.S. State Department.
On May 17, the U.S. State Department, without consulting the Chinese side, issued a controversial visa policy directive and sent it to U.S. universities that sponsor Confucius institutes. It said, "Any faculty member who, through a college's J-1 exchange program, teaches students of elementary or secondary school age, is violating visa rules. Such teachers would have been required to return to China by June 30 and to reapply for an appropriate visa."
Confucius institutes around the world are nonprofit public organizations established by China's Confucius Institute Headquarters, also known as Hanban, with the aim to teach Chinese language and promote cultural exchanges overseas.
The United States currently has the largest number of Confucius institutes and Confucius classrooms around the world. Hanban's statistics show since the first Confucius Institute in the United States was established at University of Maryland in 2005, it has dispatched more than 2,100 teachers to the country's 81 Confucius institutes and 299 Confucius classrooms in 48 states. About 600 Chinese teachers are working in these facilities.
The initial directive, if enacted, would have forced at least 51 Chinese teachers to leave the United States, according to Hanban.
A revised policy directive issued by the U.S. State Department on May 25 said that Confucius institutes in the United States can continue with their courses, and their Chinese teachers do not have to leave. Confucius institutes will not need to obtain separate U.S. accreditation, according to the directive.
"The new directive shows recognition of Confucius institutes from the U.S. Federal Government. We welcome the quick amendment by the U.S. State Department. The surging interest in Chinese language in the United States is an irreversible trend," said Xu Lin, Director General of Hanban.
It is the first time a question of accreditation concerning the Confucius Institute had been raised, according to an official with Hanban, who preferred to remain anonymous.
The official told Xinhua News Agency that those Confucius institutes were voluntarily requested by U.S. universities, approved by the headquarters and jointly operated with Chinese universities.
The Chinese teachers dispatched by Hanban were carefully selected and trained by both sides in an effort to help American elementary and secondary school students learn Mandarin and understand Chinese culture, the official said.
A growing demand
According to Xu, Confucius institutes are committed to helping people across the world learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture, enhancing China's educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation with other countries, and promoting friendship between Chinese and foreigners.
One of the Confucius Institute's most important missions is providing those studying Chinese in foreign countries and regions with standardized, authoritative and modern Chinese textbooks and learning opportunities, according to an official introduction.
Unlike other independently organized language and culture promotion centers, such as France's Alliance Francaise and Germany's Goethe-Institute, which are independently organized, the Confucius Institute cooperates with established universities, colleges and secondary schools around the world. Every outlet is managed by the combination of a Chinese director and a foreign counterpart.
In recent years, with more people rushing to learn Chinese, the Confucius Institute has seen a strong development around the world. Since the world's first Confucius Institute was opened in South Korea in November 2004, more than 350 Confucius institutes and about 500 Confucius classrooms have been established in five continents, covering 106 countries and regions, with more than 50 million registered students.
On May 19, Croatia's first Confucius Institute was established at Zagreb University. It is the latest outlet of Hanban.
Xu said that at a time when most Western economies are reeling from financial problems, the Chinese growth engine has chugged along relatively smoothly, thereby sparking curiosity about China and the Chinese way of thinking.
"Foreigners are puzzled by how much China has achieved economically in just 30 years. They are now more than keen to learn Chinese language and culture to get fresh perspectives and know more about the country," Xu said, adding that this has also been the motivator for many countries and regions to set up Confucius institutes.
American universities such as Stanford University, Columbia University and the University of Chicago have sponsored the institutes or classrooms on their campuses with nearly 160,000 registered learners. In addition, more than 5,000 public primary schools, middle schools and colleges in the country are offering Chinese language courses, reaching more than 200,000 American students, according to Hanban.
Qing Gao, Managing Director of the Confucius Institute at George Mason University, told Xinhua that the Confucius institutes have been welcomed by U.S. schools and communities, amid a growing consensus on the importance of global education for the country's next generation.
Even the U.S. State Department acknowledged in its policy directive on May 17 that it "appreciates the significant work done by U.S. academic institutions and Confucius institutes," which benefits the enhancement of cultural exchange.
Facing the increasing demand, the Chinese Government has expressed its determination to support the further expansion of the Confucius Institute.
Controversy
However, as the number of Confucius institutes around the world is growing fast to meet the strong demand for Chinese language study, the program has also faced criticism.
At the university level, some foreign critics have fretted at the presence of the Confucius Institute on campuses, fearing interference with academic freedom.
The U.S. Congress held a hearing on China's public diplomacy in the United States in March and strongly criticized the operation of the Confucius Institute.
Some other countries and regions have also made similar criticisms. Last year, some German politicians attacked the presence of the Confucius Institute in Germany. In mid-May this year, the applicability and purpose of Confucius institutes in Britain were questioned by some politicians and scholars.
"We only discuss language and culture in the classroom," rebutted Xu. "The system of the Confucius Institute has proved a well-established program to promote Chinese language and culture around the world."
Disseminating the culture
Culture is fast emerging as a crucial indicator for a country to showcase its competitiveness in the contemporary world. "China should use culture as a diplomatic platform to enhance its image and project its soft power," Chinese Minister of Culture Cai Wu said at a news conference earlier this year.
"There is no doubt that China has impressed the world with its booming economy. But that alone is not enough," said Yu Guoming, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Beijing-based Renmin University of China. "With China's influence growing steadily, the thrust for the future is to not only export more goods, but also showcase the life and culture of the nation to the rest of the world."
Today, the Confucius Institute has emerged as China's most successful global brand and platform for promoting Chinese language and culture.
"People in Western countries are always surprised to find that by using Eastern wisdom, many contradictions and conflicts can be solved as Chinese tradition always advocates harmony," Xu said.
According to Xu, Chinese language and culture training opportunities can also help deepen intercultural understanding and thus soften China's image as a threat as it grows stronger both economically and politically.
On May 24, Lee Kum Kee, a 124-year-old Chinese company that manufactures Asian sauces, signed a memorandum of cooperation.
According to the memorandum, Lee Kum Kee will help train volunteers in cooking, compile textbooks on Chinese cooking, send chefs to participate in classes, and enrich courses at Confucius institutes in order to boost the international propagation of Chinese food culture.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Government also plans to open more Confucius institutes to teach traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) overseas and promote Eastern medical science, said Vice Minister of Health Wang Guoqiang on May 28.
Wang encouraged more than 20 Chinese TCM universities to seek out cooperation with overseas universities and colleges in setting up more Confucius institutes to spread TCM.
"They should also help train more bilingual TCM practitioners to give instructions at Confucius institutes," he said, adding that Chinese TCM doctors who have been practicing abroad for some time can be invited to teach at local Confucius institutes to help ease the current shortage of qualified teachers.
Xu said that TCM would be a highlight of newly opened Confucius institutes in coming years.
According to her, there are two Confucius institutes specially dedicated to teaching TCM, at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Britain's London South Bank University, respectively. "We are preparing a third in the United States," Xu said.
