11 Facts About Confucius Institute

The Confucius Institute program was formerly under Hanban, an organization affiliated with the Chinese government.

Confucius Institute program began in 2004 and was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education-affiliated Hanban, overseen by individual universities.

In July 2020, Hanban announced its renaming to the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, stating that The Confucius Institute was handed over to Chinese International Education Foundation, a self-described "non-governmental private organization".

The second Confucius Institute was opened on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, in November 2004.

Confucius Institute is named after the noted Chinese philosopher Confucius .

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Outside of China, Confucius Institute is a generally recognizable symbol of Chinese culture, removed from the negative associations of other prominent Chinese figures such as chairman Mao Zedong.

Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Sydney, notes the irony that the CCP now lionizing Confucius Institute had vilified him just four decades previously for his association with patriarchal, hierarchical, and conservative values.

In July 2020, Hanban announced its renaming to Center for Language Education and Cooperation, stating that The Confucius Institute was fully handed over to Chinese International Education Foundation, a self-described "non-governmental private organization".

At other schools, officials have raised concerns that the Confucius Institute espouses a sanitized view of Chinese society that avoids contentious topics like human rights abuses and Tibet, and they express concerns regarding whether the Hanban would sponsor events that discuss views contrary to those of the CCP.

Confucius Institute came to Germany in 2018 and is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, a main German political party, and a member of the Young Union youth organization.

Peng Ming-min, a Taiwan independence activist and politician, claims that colleges and universities where a Confucius Institute is established have to sign a contract in which they declare their support for Beijing's "One China" policy.