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FLUX AND FLOWS OF PEOPLE, POWER AND PRACTICES: ISSUES RELATING TO SOCIAL JUSTICE237In 1992, the Thai government officially sanctioned theteaching of Chinese as a foreign language at all levels ofthe education system. This resolution helped elevatethe status of the Chinese language to a similar level asthat of English, French, German and Japanese. Tenyears later, in 2002, out of a total of more than 40,000public and private schools in Thailand, 728 offeredcourses in Chinese. A total of 79,195 students wereparticipating at the primary level and 126,939 studentswere participating at the secondary level. The totalnumber of instructors of Chinese was 1,270.In the academic year 2004 — 2005, 73 vocational orhigher education institutions offered Chinese subjectsas major, minor and selective courses, with theparticipation of 16,221 undergraduate and 23graduate students (Patchanee & Suree 2010). Chineseas a foreign language is now taught at every level and inevery region of the country, taking a second position toEnglish.One explanation for the rapid success of Chineselanguage teaching and learning was the enthusiasticresponse of overseas Chinese communities inThailand. The ethnic Chinese community in Thailandis among the largest overseas Chinese population inSoutheast Asia, equivalent to that of Indonesia. Dataprovided by the Overseas Compatriot AffairsCommission (OCAC) in 2005 indicated that the totalpopulation of ethnic Chinese in Thailand was7,053,240, making up 15 percent of Thailand’spopulation. The concept of “being Chinese” inThailand however needs to be clarified carefully. Mostpeople of Chinese descent who live in Thailandnowadays adopt Thai values, language and culture.They grow up under the Thai education system. Manyare the result of intermarriages between Chinese andThais. They are no longer citizens of China and Thaican be considered their secondary ethnic identity(Chan KB & CK Tong, 1993). The assimilation andintegration process of the Chinese community intoThai society over many generations has meant that aportion of Chinese descendants are not able to speaktheir ancestral language and may perceive theirChinese origins as of less importance. This may alsohowever perhaps account for why many Thai-Chinesepeople are keen to learn their ancestors’ language, inorder to help them find their roots. Here is the voice ofa young Thai-Chinese:“I am a Chinese descendent born and bred inThailand. When I was little, I really could nottell whether where I was a Thai or a Chinese.Thai is my mother tongue and I have alwayscommunicated with others in the Thai language.But in the point of my inmost heart I always feela faint suspicion: Am I a Chinese or a Thai? Mygrandpa and grandma keep on telling me myancestors were Chinese. I am determined to lookfor my roots. So I want to learn Chinese becauseChinese is a very important tool to help me findmy roots and fulfill my dreams”. (People’s DailyOnline, 2004)2. In 2005, Hanban signed an agreement with theMoE providing for the establishment of CI within theeducation system of Thailand. From 2005 to 2008,China founded 12 CI and 12 Confucius Classrooms atsome of the most prestigious universities and schoolsof Thailand. Based on information gathered throughinterviews with leaders, faculty staff and students invarious CI in Thailand, I provide below a briefdescription of CI activities in Thailand. An initialassessment on the role of CI in Thailand will bediscussed.All CI in Thailand were established between 2006 and2009. Most are affiliated to public universities andhigh schools. (The CI located in Betong municipality,southern Thailand is unique in that it is situatedwithin a Thai municipal administration which has anacademic collaboration with a Chinese university). It isinteresting to note that virtually all of Thailand’s mostsignificant universities have a CI. These includeChulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University,Mae Fah Luang University, Kasetsart University,Khon Kaen University, Mahasarakham University,Prince of Songkla University, Prince of SongklaUniversity in Phuket, Burapha University andMahasarakham University. Thammasat Universitydoes not have a CI but the Department of ChineseStudies at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and The PridiBanomyong International College of this universityare said to be among the leading Chinese teachinginstitutions of Thailand. 6 Suan Dusit RajchabhatUniversity at Suphanburi and BansomdejchaoprayaRajchabhat University each have a CI. 7As a common rule, each CI in Thailand is assigned topartner with a Chinese university. The Thaiuniversities are the local hosts while the Chineseuniversities are under the direct administration ofHanban in Beijing. Partners in China include leadinguniversities such as Peking University, ShanghaiUniversity, Xiamen University, Tianjin University,Guangxi University, and Yunnan University.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows