2023-06-01 19:30:12
The collaboration launched in 2006 between the University of Liège and the Confucius Institute will end at the end of December 2023, informs Uliège on Thursday. The Confucius Institutes, managed by the Chinese International Education Foundation, is defined as a non-profit association supported by Chinese universities. Their official goal is to promote Chinese language and culture.
“This decision results from the reorientation observed in recent years of the activities of the Confucius Institute, which is no longer in line with the teaching, research and citizenship missions of ULiège.“, justifies the press release.
Asked by Belga, the sinologist from the Liège University Eric Florence, comments: “Until regarding 2016, we were able to set up activities that dealt with all themes, including political ones. In 2013 or 2014, for example, we organized an international symposium on independent Chinese documentaries. Screenings of films by Wang Bing (Chinese filmmaker without concessions to his country, editor’s note) were on the menu. The limits were pushed quite far. Today, it is no longer possible to act in this way. This new turn coincides with a political hardening in China“.
In March 2022, the European Parliament urged Belgium to review its anti-espionage framework. In this perspective, he nevertheless underlined the end of the cooperation of several universities (the ULB and the VUB, editor’s note) with the Confucius institutes. Eric Florence assures that the question of espionage did not however influence the decision of the university.
ULiège confirms that courses in Chinese language, history, culture and society will continue to be taught by it.
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