The Centre for Language Education and Cooperation () is an organization under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China tasked with "providing Chinese language and cultural teaching resources and services worldwide". It is commonly referred to as the Hanban (), the colloquial abbreviation for the Office of Han Language Council International (); it is also known as Confucius Institute Headquarters.
It was originally called the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, which was established in 1987, and acquired its current name in 2020. Hanban is most notable for the Confucius Institute program. It also sponsors Chinese Bridge, a competition in Chinese proficiency for non-native speakers. Organizationally, Hanban sits directly under the Ministry of Education. It has numerous subdivisions, including three separate Confucius Institute divisions in charge of Asian and African, American and Oceanian, and European regions. Hanban has been criticized for its Confucius Institute program and for the actions of former Director General Xu Lin.
History The China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL, ) was established in 1987 to "enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and other peoples of the world, promote economic and trade cooperation as well as scientific, technological and cultural exchanges between them".
In 2004, Hanban and the U.S. College Board developed the "AP Chinese Language and Culture Course and Exam" program. As a result of this and other initiatives, approximately 160 U.S. Chinese language teachers have attended the AP Chinese Teacher Summer Institutes. Since 2006, Hanban has been sending volunteer teachers from China to the U.S., and 105 such teachers have taught Chinese in 30 U.S. states.
Following a widespread backlash, Hanban changed its name in July 2020 to the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation.
Administration According to its website, Hanban's goals include "making Chinese language and culture teaching resources and services available to the world", "meeting the demands of overseas Chinese learners", and "contributing to the formation of a world of cultural diversity and harmony". Hanban aims to cultivate knowledge and interest in the Chinese language and culture around the world, especially in people who are not native speakers of Chinese. Hanban has worked "closely with overseas organizations to develop Chinese language courses in their respective countries".
Functions Hanban's primary functions include making "policies and development plans for promoting Chinese language internationally", supporting "Chinese language programs at educational institutions of various types and levels in other countries", and drafting "international Chinese teaching standards and develop and promote Chinese language teaching materials".
Hanban is most notable for the Confucius Institute program. Launched in 2004, the program consists of individual institutions, or Confucius Institutes, in regions around the world, including the U.S., South Korea, Germany, Sweden, and Africa. Hanban also sponsors Chinese Bridge, a competition in Chinese proficiency for non-native speakers.
Directors , Hanban has five directors: Ma Jianfei, Zhao Guocheng, Jing Wei, Yu Yunfeng, and Yu Tianqi. Directors of individual Confucius Institutes have four-year tenures, including a one-year probation period.
Organizational structure Organizationally, Hanban sits directly under the Ministry of Education. It has numerous subdivisions, including the following:
Division of General Affairs Division of Human Resources Division of Discipline Inspection Division of Auditing Division of Finance Division of Assets Management Division of Development and Planning Division of Policy Studies Division of Asian and African Confucius Institutes Division of American and Oceanian Confucius Institutes Division of European Confucius Institutes Division of Teachers Division of Volunteer Affairs Division of Teaching and Resources Division of Chinese Testing and Scholarship Division of Cultural Affairs Division of Sinology and China Studies Division of International Exchanges Information Office (Editorial Office of Confucius Institute) Division of Logistics
Criticisms and controversies Academics and journalists have criticized Hanban, particularly the Confucius Institute program that has rapidly grown worldwide since 2004.
Confucius Institutes
While inspecting Hanban, Li Changchun, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, stated that: "the construction of Confucius Institutes is an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world", which is "part of China's foreign propaganda strategy".
In January 2010, the Chinese Ministry of Finance announced that the winning bid to build and maintain the Confucius Institute website was awarded to Hanban-subsidiary company Wuzhou Hanfeng Web Technology Ltd. (Wuzhou Hanfeng Wangluo Keji 五洲汉风网络科技) for ().The Cost of Confucius Institutes , China Digital Times, 01 June 2012 Wuzhou Hanfeng Web Technology Ltd. was registered to Wáng Yǒnglì (王永利), Deputy Director-General of Hanban and Deputy Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters. This connection led news media and social media commentators to criticize Hanban for corruption and a lack of transparency.国家汉办称3520万向下属公司采购不违规 , China Daily, 22 January 2010孔子学院网站天价中标 , Beijing News, 22 January 2010孔子学院网站运营费3520万 天价费用遭网友质疑 , Sina, 22 January 2010Chinese Doubt Their Own Soft Power Venture , Foreign Policy, October 17, 2014 In response, Hanban Director-General Xià Jiànhuī (夏建辉) said that "the website will eventually be made into a learning portal that will be promoted globally" and that "this is a comprehensive project", maintaining that Hanban did not break any rules by allowing their own subsidiary company to win the contract.Controversy Over Cost of Confucius Institute Website , China Buzz, The Economic Observer, 22 January 2010Transparency and corruption – two sides of the same coin? , Chinahush, 24 January 2010
According to The Globe and Mail, McMaster University ended its five-year relationship with Hanban after former McMaster Confucius Institute teacher Sonia Zhao quit her job and subsequently complained to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario that the university was "giving legitimization to discrimination". Under her job contract, Zhao was forced to hide her belief in Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that the Chinese government deems "dangerous". Zhao stated that she was "trained in Beijing to dodge sensitive topics in class".McMaster closing Confucius Institute over hiring issues , The Globe and Mail, 7 February 2013.
In December 2013, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) passed a resolution, "That all universities and colleges in Canada which currently host Confucius Institutes on their campuses cease doing so, and universities and colleges currently contemplating such arrangements pursue them no further." CAUT executive director James Turk described Confucius Institutes as "essentially political arms of the Chinese government".Canada's Association of University Teachers Calls on Universities to Close Confucius Institutes , Universities News, 25 December 2013. Turk stated that the ten Canadian universities that hosted Confucius Institutes were compromising their integrity by allowing Hanban to have a voice in academic matters such as curriculum and topics of class discussion, which constitutes a "fundamental violation of academic freedom".Universities and colleges urged to end ties with Confucius Institutes , Canadian Association of University Teachers, 17 December 2013. In June 2014, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called on the almost 100 American universities that hosted Confucius Institutes to renegotiate their contracts with Hanban. The AAUP's Report on Academic Freedom stated that "Confucius Institutes function as an arm of the Chinese state and are allowed to ignore academic freedom."AAUP Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, On Partnerships with Foreign Governments: The Case of Confucius Institutes , June 2014.
A 21 June 2014 editorial in The Washington Post listed concerns regarding Confucius Institutes, including the AAUP advising universities to cut Hanban ties, alleged violations of freedom of speech and human rights, and the secrecy of undisclosed contracts between schools and Hanban. It concluded that "academic freedom cannot have a price tag" and recommended that if universities will not publish their Confucius Institute agreements, the programs should end. On 24 June, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua responded,Compulsory education: A setback for Confucius , Week in China, 4 July 2014. saying that the claims made by the AAUP and others—that Confucius Institutes "function as an arm of the Chinese state and are pushing political agendas"—actually "expose not so much communist propaganda as their own intolerance of exotic cultures and biased preconceived notions to smear and isolate the CPC".China Voice: Fear, ignorance behind calls to stem Confucius Institutes , Xinhua, 23 June 2014.
Xu Lin incidents Xu Lin, the Director-General of Hanban and Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, was involved in two international incidents in 2014. In July, she ordered her staff to remove pages referring to Taiwanese academic institutions from the published program for the European Association for Chinese Studies conference in Portugal, claiming the materials were "contrary to Chinese regulations",China's Soft-Power Fail , Bloomberg View, 07 October 2014. which the Wall Street Journal described as the "bullying approach to academic freedom". In September, the University of Chicago closed its Confucius Institute, citing incompatibility with Xu's comments regarding the university in a Jiefang Daily article.Chicago to Close Confucius Institute , Inside Higher Ed, 26 September 2014 The Business Spectator commented that the "Xu's hardline behavior highlights one of the biggest problems for Beijing's charm offensive" and that "It still relies on officials like Xu, who still think and act like party ideologues who like to assert their authority and bully people into submission."Hard times for China's soft power , Business Spectator, 29 September 2014.
Braga incident On 22 July 2014, the evening before the start of the European Association of Chinese Studies (EACS) conference in Braga, Portugal, Xu Lin removed four pages from the conference program and one page from the abstracts, which referred to Taiwan's Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, a major sponsor of the conference for the past 20 years.The Diplomat The Undoing of China's Soft Power , "The Diplomat", 8 August 2014. The EACS subsequently reprinted the deleted materials to distribute to the conference members. EACS president Roger Greatrex subsequently issued a report on the page deletionsRoger Greatrex, Report: The Deletion of Pages from EACS Conference materials in Braga (July 2014) , European Association for Chinese Studies, 1 August 2014. and an official letter of protest that concluded, "Such interference in the internal organization of the international conference of an independent and democratically organized non-profitable academic organization is totally unacceptable."Roger Greatrex, Letter of Protest at Interference in EACS Conference in Portugal, July 2014 , European Association for Chinese Studies, 1 August 2014.