The fascinating mission of the Confucius Institute unimpeded in the city of Arras in northern France-French newspaper abstract

issuing time: 04/11/2021 – 12:42

The fascinating mission of the Confucius Institute is unimpeded in the city of Arras, northern France

The report from Le Figaro stated that the Confucius Institute, which French university students and teachers cannot circumvent, is a weapon for China to promote soft power. It is low-key but very effective in invading university life, taking the Chinese department of the University of Artois in a disturbing and in line with Beijing. The article writes that at the beginning of the new school year, the lectures or discussions offered by this Chinese soft power organization seem to be an introduction to Chinese culture, from Chinese movies in the 1930s, to Tai Chi, to food and so on. But in fact, the positive energy expressions have bypassed or rewritten the various protest movements from Taiwan to Hong Kong, and the repressive policies from Tibet to Xinjiang, highlighting the image of a successful and time-honored China. The article puts double quotation marks on Chinese culture. The Confucius Institute and the University of Artois cooperate so closely that the boundary between the two is no longer clear. Some university teaching arrangements will also be carried out in the classrooms of the Confucius Institute. An atmosphere of self-censorship gradually formed. The head of the Confucius Institute, whose transliteration is Jin Siyan (Jin Siyan), has been concurrently the head of the Chinese Department for many years. She denied that the Confucius Institute infiltrated the Chinese Department of Artova University, saying that she never shy away from discussing Taiwan or Tibet issues. But Sandrine Marchand, a professor at the school, said that the Taiwanese part of the syllabus has been greatly compressed and is limited to a literary perspective. In the context of escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait, if literature classes are not integrated with other subjects, how can students understand the complex background behind literary themes? The article said that in 2008, the Taiwan history class hosted by Professor Sandrine Marchand was cancelled without any explanation after only one year of practice. Students’ essays have also begun to avoid sensitive topics. The traceability investigation of the new crown virus has aroused the attention of international public opinion, and the expressions of the new crown epidemic from the Chinese official media have also entered the classroom. The report pointed out that the superposition of various behaviors enabled the Confucius Institute to spread a kind of compromise and censorship thinking. There are rumors in the Sinology community that when the Confucius Institute in Alas was opened, the neighboring University of Lille firmly refused to accept this propaganda machine. A Chinese teacher in Lille told a reporter from Le Figaro that the Confucius Institute was brainwashing with warm water. Last year, a cross-cultural curriculum diploma of the Confucius Institute entered the ranks of official diplomas of the University of Arras. This article points out that in Arras, the fascinating mission of the Confucius Institute is unimpeded.

China holds two-thirds of the bilateral foreign debts of sub-Saharan African countries

In 20 years, China has become the largest bank in African countries and holds nearly two-thirds of the bilateral foreign debts of sub-Saharan African countries. This is the subject of the China report in the economic edition of “The Cross”. The article quoted a recent document from the French National Treasury Agency that African countries are the main recipients of China’s public development assistance funds. Between 2000 and 2017, 42% of China’s development assistance funds went to Africa, followed by Asian countries, accounting for this amount. 38% of funds. During this period, China’s total loans to African countries reached 121 billion euros, equivalent to the total amount of developed countries’ development assistance funds in the region. These loan agreements were signed under very opaque conditions under a bilateral framework. Half of the loans were not declared to the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. These funds are widely used to open the door for Chinese companies to win large-scale infrastructure contracts. According to this document from the National Treasury Agency, 30% of bilateral loan contracts require the recipient country to open another account as a loan guarantee. The profit from the funded project must be entered into this account. The account is opened in the recipient country and controlled by China. If the borrowing country conducts so-called “violation of China’s interests”, the loan contract allows China to require the borrowing country to repay the loan in full immediately. But the article wrote that despite this, a survey in 2020 showed that 23% of residents in 18 African countries affirmed this “Chinese development model”, 32% agreed with the “American model”, and only 11% agreed. The way of former colonial powers.

RCEP is about to launch: a political victory for China

Australia and New Zealand recently adopted a regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement composed of 15 Asian countries. The agreement will be implemented from next year. The article cited research by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a research institute headquartered in Washington, pointing out that this partnership will increase the annual income of the signatories by US$186 billion by 2030, far exceeding that of 11 countries including Japan. The possible value added by the Comprehensive Progress Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is equivalent to 0.2% of GDP. But most of these benefits will flow to China, Japan and South Korea. The article believes that in the context of Sino-US trade tensions, the regional comprehensive economic partnership will take effect and the implementation is imminent, which is indeed a political victory for Beijing.