Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director, Volume 1

As China's flagship platform for cultural diplomacy and international engagement, the global expansion of Confucius Institutes has been accompanied by growing controversyparticularly in the West. This bookand the volumes that followis 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 challengesfrom 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 Institutesthat 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.

The first insider memoir from a Confucius Institute director during a time of growing global controversy Chronicles a personal journey of building an award-winning Institute while facing existential and political challenges Balances lived experience with a critical examination of controversies and accusations surrounding Confucius Institutes

Autorentext

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.

Inhalt

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.