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Conde Sekou, A professor from Guinea at Minzu University of China
After America was discovered in 1492, europeans spread their culture across the world through colonization. Nowadays, even with international organizations of cultural exchange like UNeSCo, the biggest contributors are the United States and europe. Today, Christmas is celebrated across the world; people in China are all wearing jeans. Western and American soft power is everywhere.
China now is a big power and is becoming stronger both economically and politically. It has a right to let the world know about its culture. Any country would do the same. But its competitors, Western countries, aren’t happy about that. even after decolonization, Western powers still see Africa as their backyard. They hope everything will remain Western, and it’s hard for them to view places like a Confucius Institute in a positive light. But I don’t think Africans view it in the same way.
Africans don’t see Confucius institutions as a threat. China has come here not to import, but to bring awareness of Chinese civilization. And with the institutes, Chinese scholars can learn much through contact with African scholars. They will discover similarities and differences. recognizing differences can help to bridge gaps and reduce misunderstanding.
Vallai M. Dorley, Ph.D candidate of Public Policy from Liberia in a one-year exchange program with Peking University
for me, what China is doing isn’t making Africans change from a Western ideology base to a communist ideology base. The Chinese don’t believe in interference in our national politics or policy. Their cultural promotion is about showing people how China is more than a sum of labels such as “Communist,” “Maoist” or“Marxist.”
I don’t believe Chinese culture will hurt African culture. for the past 200 years, Western culture has been in Africa and Africans still maintain their culture. I’m from Liberia, a traditional, culturally oriented country. I still maintain my culture, my religion, and the traditions of my tribe and society.
I don’t think China will change this. But it will try to give a new idea to Africans about its involvement in Africa, to rid the mentality that the Chinese are “backward.” It’s a new approach to African culture.
Ezemaduka Anastasia Ngozi,[from Nigeria] Head of Peking University’s African students association
I don’t see anything bad in people trying to let you know more about their lives. If I had known more about China before I arrived here, I would have been able to understand things better and avoid embarrassment at times.
I think people now are coming to China for various reasons. If it’s not for education, they are here for business. Knowing the language helps in both cases. If Africans can achieve this through a school like the Confucius Institute, that’s a good thing.
every child in Africa wants to be a doctor or lawyer, and before I went to school I used to think that language was not worth the time studying. But when I arrived in China, I found that language skills are very important. I have more job opportunities with my language skills– more job opportunities than being a doctor or lawyer. Apart from language, the Chinese have other, good skills to offer. There is a lot of potential from which to learn. I don’t see any cultural invasion issues here if they’re teaching good skills to Africans.
Yu Youbin, Deputy Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology
“Cultural invasion” is under the rubric of colonialism. When the expression is used, it means to force something upon someone. But the Confucius Institute is grounded in willingness from both sides. It aims to help Africans learn more about the Chinese language in order to avoid possible misunderstandings in their communications or business with China.
The institutes provide a convenient platform for anyone with a need to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture – no different in aim than when China helped Africa build its railways. Additionally, the institutes are not solely owned by China. They are a product of cooperation with African universities; no one profits financially from the institute. All we gain is friendship and opportunities for communication.
Not only do Africans learn about Chinese culture, the schools’ Chinese teachers are also encouraged to learn local languages and customs. They gain much from their research into African communities and culture.
Xu Lin, Chief Executive at Beijing-based Confucius Institute Headquarters
Chinese culture will be a still body of water if it does not try to reach out. If we don’t promote our culture, we won’t absorb other cultures. We have established Confucius institutes in over 100 countries, and these hundred cultures flood back into China through our teachers. These cultures can help to improve and update our own, enhancing the inclusiveness of Chinese culture.
The Chinese like to discover the good qualities in foreign cultures. once upon a time, we only believed in Confucius, but went on to embrace Western philosophies like Marxism and others.
Some question China’s intentions behind its cultural promotion. But if we review history, what have the Chinese done before now? They have never invaded another country, and China is anything but an aggressive culture. our cultural promotion is only aimed at helping people to understand us. All we want is for the world to have a reasonable understanding of China, without over or under exaggeration.
Huang Lizhi, A Ph.D Candidate in International Relations at Peking University
I’ve learned from being around African students at Peking University that Africans are grateful to those who help them. Contrary to what I’ve seen here, these stabbing claims of cultural invasion are a way to degrade China’s role in Africa. And as the carriers of cultural promotion, Chinese volunteers are the best countermeasure against these allegations.
Since 2002, China has dispatched more than 360 volunteers to Africa, a number that may not be very memorable. But it’s a starting point, paving the way to the future. According to a survey done by my research team on volunteers in Africa, both officials and average citizens in African countries praised this work highly. Demand for more volunteers is there. Malawi’s Ambassador to China has said the volunteers strengthen bonds of bilateral relations, and one of our own African interviewees told us that among the public, people see friendship from China as something real.
After America was discovered in 1492, europeans spread their culture across the world through colonization. Nowadays, even with international organizations of cultural exchange like UNeSCo, the biggest contributors are the United States and europe. Today, Christmas is celebrated across the world; people in China are all wearing jeans. Western and American soft power is everywhere.
China now is a big power and is becoming stronger both economically and politically. It has a right to let the world know about its culture. Any country would do the same. But its competitors, Western countries, aren’t happy about that. even after decolonization, Western powers still see Africa as their backyard. They hope everything will remain Western, and it’s hard for them to view places like a Confucius Institute in a positive light. But I don’t think Africans view it in the same way.
Africans don’t see Confucius institutions as a threat. China has come here not to import, but to bring awareness of Chinese civilization. And with the institutes, Chinese scholars can learn much through contact with African scholars. They will discover similarities and differences. recognizing differences can help to bridge gaps and reduce misunderstanding.
Vallai M. Dorley, Ph.D candidate of Public Policy from Liberia in a one-year exchange program with Peking University
for me, what China is doing isn’t making Africans change from a Western ideology base to a communist ideology base. The Chinese don’t believe in interference in our national politics or policy. Their cultural promotion is about showing people how China is more than a sum of labels such as “Communist,” “Maoist” or“Marxist.”
I don’t believe Chinese culture will hurt African culture. for the past 200 years, Western culture has been in Africa and Africans still maintain their culture. I’m from Liberia, a traditional, culturally oriented country. I still maintain my culture, my religion, and the traditions of my tribe and society.
I don’t think China will change this. But it will try to give a new idea to Africans about its involvement in Africa, to rid the mentality that the Chinese are “backward.” It’s a new approach to African culture.
Ezemaduka Anastasia Ngozi,[from Nigeria] Head of Peking University’s African students association
I don’t see anything bad in people trying to let you know more about their lives. If I had known more about China before I arrived here, I would have been able to understand things better and avoid embarrassment at times.
I think people now are coming to China for various reasons. If it’s not for education, they are here for business. Knowing the language helps in both cases. If Africans can achieve this through a school like the Confucius Institute, that’s a good thing.
every child in Africa wants to be a doctor or lawyer, and before I went to school I used to think that language was not worth the time studying. But when I arrived in China, I found that language skills are very important. I have more job opportunities with my language skills– more job opportunities than being a doctor or lawyer. Apart from language, the Chinese have other, good skills to offer. There is a lot of potential from which to learn. I don’t see any cultural invasion issues here if they’re teaching good skills to Africans.
Yu Youbin, Deputy Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology
“Cultural invasion” is under the rubric of colonialism. When the expression is used, it means to force something upon someone. But the Confucius Institute is grounded in willingness from both sides. It aims to help Africans learn more about the Chinese language in order to avoid possible misunderstandings in their communications or business with China.
The institutes provide a convenient platform for anyone with a need to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture – no different in aim than when China helped Africa build its railways. Additionally, the institutes are not solely owned by China. They are a product of cooperation with African universities; no one profits financially from the institute. All we gain is friendship and opportunities for communication.
Not only do Africans learn about Chinese culture, the schools’ Chinese teachers are also encouraged to learn local languages and customs. They gain much from their research into African communities and culture.
Xu Lin, Chief Executive at Beijing-based Confucius Institute Headquarters
Chinese culture will be a still body of water if it does not try to reach out. If we don’t promote our culture, we won’t absorb other cultures. We have established Confucius institutes in over 100 countries, and these hundred cultures flood back into China through our teachers. These cultures can help to improve and update our own, enhancing the inclusiveness of Chinese culture.
The Chinese like to discover the good qualities in foreign cultures. once upon a time, we only believed in Confucius, but went on to embrace Western philosophies like Marxism and others.
Some question China’s intentions behind its cultural promotion. But if we review history, what have the Chinese done before now? They have never invaded another country, and China is anything but an aggressive culture. our cultural promotion is only aimed at helping people to understand us. All we want is for the world to have a reasonable understanding of China, without over or under exaggeration.
Huang Lizhi, A Ph.D Candidate in International Relations at Peking University
I’ve learned from being around African students at Peking University that Africans are grateful to those who help them. Contrary to what I’ve seen here, these stabbing claims of cultural invasion are a way to degrade China’s role in Africa. And as the carriers of cultural promotion, Chinese volunteers are the best countermeasure against these allegations.
Since 2002, China has dispatched more than 360 volunteers to Africa, a number that may not be very memorable. But it’s a starting point, paving the way to the future. According to a survey done by my research team on volunteers in Africa, both officials and average citizens in African countries praised this work highly. Demand for more volunteers is there. Malawi’s Ambassador to China has said the volunteers strengthen bonds of bilateral relations, and one of our own African interviewees told us that among the public, people see friendship from China as something real.