Mandarin lessons run by Confucius Institute- WARNING

[Rips77]

Hi all, my son is taught Mandarin in his Southwark primary school- I thought this an odd choice as they don't offer any European languages- so did some digging- turns out his school, and many others in London and the UK- are partnered with the Confucius Institute- which it turns out, after a little more digging- is run by the Chinese state- and CI employees are contractually bound to promote CCP values and report on Chinese nationals abroad for any non adherence to these values- all in our primary and secondary schools- and universities. UK Governement are defunding the Confucius Institutes for these reasons- as they are part of the 'soft power' initiative of the Chinese State to spread influence and control abroad- but our schools are complicit in careless partnering with organisations that are run by a tryrannical regime- a terrible failure in safeguarding and due diligence. I have contacted my son's school on this but have until now been brushed off. There are resources online that have evidence of this and many articles, a few by The Guardian for example- and the best data is on UK ChinaTransparency but don't know forum policy on posting links so haven't included. If anyone is concerned please do some research, reach out to the school, and DM me if you want links etc. or want to get together to pressure our schools. I for one don't feel comfortable at all having CCP employees teaching my child. Any Chinese nationals who may or may not be considered dissedent or similar, with kids living in the UK, should be very alarmed by this too.

[New2]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi_g57Dl5WDAxUfUkEAHVT8A_MQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.securityclearedjobs.com%2Fjob%2F802015814%2Fmandarin-language-specialist-registration-of-interest-ref-3137&usg=AOvVaw0gnlTz2FPD1WerBAPvgVCZ&opi=89978449
 

job opportunities for the future. Your boy is lucky. 

[Shaggy]

Thanks Rips -- this isn't a secret. When I was a teacher I saw their Mandarin classes and Chinese dance classes first hand. Yes, they are regarded as 'spies' but all they are really doing is encouraging kids to think favourably about China. Anything political they say goes hilariously over the heads of the kids. The teachers are also relentlessly nice (oh how dare they), so really the enduring message they deliver is "Chinese people are nice." I don't have a massive problem with that. 

[Rips77]

Thanks Shaggy, I know my son is not really interested- and there's a ton of press regarding CI's in the UK- but all the same, they (CI employees) are contractually obliged to report on Chinese nationals living abroad if deemed to display any 'anti CCP' behaviour- this could have serious consequences for anyone deemed 'dissident' or their families at home in China. Not so nice. CIs are part of China's 'Soft Power' approach; propaganda, spying, reporting and exerting their influence abroad-  We'll see how things go this year as the UK is defunding the CI's- shame Sunak U turned on an outright ban- but the thing to think of is how would we feel if it was a fascist state running language programs for our kids? They would be shut down in a heartbeat. I don't see why China gets a pass when it is guilty of  ethnic cleansing, mass detention, human rights abuses etc.  Plus our schools seem to welcome them with open arms, it beggars belief. Anyway, here are some links if anyone interested in further research....

Emplyoment application for CI teacher abroad:

https://ukctransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/STANDARD-FORM-National-Application-Form-for-Teachers-Going-Overseas-1.pdf

more gen info:

https://ukctransparency.org/projects-2/are-confucius-institutes-legal/

 

Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/24/uk-stop-funding-chinese-confucius-institute-mandarin-teaching-schools