Kenyan schoolchildren will start learning Mandarin: https://qz.com/africa/1517681/kenya-to-teach-mandarin-chinese-in-primary-classrooms/ I am all for cultural exchange but I am deeply skeptical of the Confucius Institute as anything more than a backdoor for Mainland Chinese spying. #kenya #confuciusinstitute #mandarin #peoplesrepublicofchina #china
@koavf I worked for the Confucius Institute. I really don't fall for this stuff. It's mostly propaganda. The problem is not so much the CI but the Chinese national directors in the Institutes. I worked as an Assistant Director and the Director was a Chinese national. He was a mess. If they have good Directors, local hired. it is much easier to control what is going on. The Directors can be decided by the local universities. Cheers!
@HeartOfChina Thanks for your perspective on this. I have recently read stories about the dozens of purported Chinese police stations operating out of Western embassies and I have no clue if this is nonsense or a real cause for concern, but Canada seem to be worried: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/01/canada-china-police-stations-cease-and-desist-warning
I find it hard to tease out what is alarmism and what is rational concern.
@koavf Yeah. I try to take things lightly with all the need we have to belittle China's incredible development over the past 30 years. I saw what it was like firsthand and am quite supportive of the hard work. There are cultural differences and that can cause challenges. Here's an article I wrote recently. You might find it interesting. https://toddcornell.substack.com/p/the-yin-yang-effect