GREGORY B. LEE, MICHAEL HILL, ZHA DAOJIONG, STEPHEN E. HANSON, MARY GALLAGHER, MARSHALL SAHLINS, MOBO GAO 07.01.14
(China Photos/Getty Images)
Statues of Confucius and his 72 students inside the Chongshengci at the Temple of Confucius in Beijing, first constructed in 1302.
Last week, ChinaFile published a discussion on the debate over Confucius Institutes–Chinese language and culture programs affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education—and their role on university campuses. The topic, and several of the responses we posted, resulted in a large number of additional responses, comments, and critiques both off and online. In particular, many readers asked for more specific examples of how Confucius Institutes operate in practice. In response, we continued to solicit contributions from people with firsthand experience of the program, which we had done the previous week with very limited success.
The original thread became so long that we are posting additional responses, which we continue to welcome, below.
To read the original discussion visit “The Debate Over Confucius Institutes: A ChinaFile Conversation.”
—The Editors
Responses
Gregory B. Lee
Following is a translation of a communiqué originally distributed in French on September 25th, 2013
The Lyon Confucius Institute (LCI) definitively ceased activities on 23rd September 2013. This situation resulted from a disagreement that had persisted since September 2012 between the Lyon-based administrators of the LCI and the HQ of Confucius Institutes in Beijing (hereafter called the Hanban, an organization for the promotion of Chinese language and culture attached to the Ministry of Education of the PRC).
The LCI was a partnership between the Lyon 2 and Lyon 3* auniversities, and Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou). As with the other Confucius institutes in France and around the world, the LCI was in part subsidised by the Hanban. Its operational costs were also assured by income from the Institute’s activities. In addition, the LCI was materially and logistically supported by the Lyon 2/Lyon 3 Universities.