China’s Confucius Institutes rebrand after overseas propaganda rows
- Hanban changes name 16 years after first overseas language and culture outpost established
- New organisation aims to keep up cooperation with international partners, particularly in the United States, senior official says
Beijing is abandoning its Confucius Institute brand after a global backlash over censorship, switching to a new look as a centre for “language exchange and cooperation”.
In a directive to lower-level agencies, the Ministry of Education said the Confucius Institute Headquarters, or Hanban, had changed its name to the Ministry of Education Centre for Language Education and Cooperation.
The directive, which was circulating on social media on Saturday, was confirmed by a source in the education sector who was briefed about the change. There was no response to phone calls to the institute’s headquarters or its Asian offices.
The institutes have been established around the world over the last decade and a half to promote Chinese language and culture through classes and institute-issued textbooks.
The first one was set up in Seoul in 2004 and by 2018 there were 548 institutes and nearly 2,000 Confucius classrooms in 154 countries, most of them at foreign universities or institutions.
The network was an important tool for China to promote its image and soft power but the name change comes after the facilities were accused of promoting Communist Party propaganda.
A string of universities in the United States have closed their Confucius Institutes in recent years amid concern about Chinese government influence on US education.