全球與公共事務研究所講座: Untold Realities of Confucius Institutes: A Director’s Memoir
講者： 曾敬涵教授/香港城巿大學公共及國際事務學系教授
日期：15/10/2025 (三)
時間：15:00 – 16:30
地點： E22-G015
語言： 英語
內容: As China’s flagship platform for cultural diplomacy, the global expansion of Confucius Institutes has been shadowed by mounting controversy—particularly in the West. Allegations have cast them as vehicles of propaganda, geopolitical influence, espionage, and even as threats to academic freedom or instruments of surveillance over Chinese students abroad. Are these claims justified? How do Confucius Institutes actually operate? Drawing on his unique experience as both a Chinese national and UK-based director, as well as a scholar of Chinese politics, the multi-volume project Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director offers a rare insider’s perspective on this contested institution. This talk focuses on Volume I, which chronicles his directorship (2019–2025), tracing how the institute grew into an award-winning organisation while grappling with existential and structural challenges—from the disruptions of COVID-19 to the dissolution of Confucius Institute Headquarters, and the then UK ruling party’s campaign to ban the institutes. Through this lived experience, the talk critically engages with the core allegations against Confucius Institutes, showing how Western media and political narratives often amplify genuine concerns yet oversimplify complexities—misrepresenting the realities on the ground.
