Untitled - Api-fellowships.org

FLUX AND FLOWS OF PEOPLE, POWER AND PRACTICES: ISSUES RELATING TO SOCIAL JUSTICE241Mekong basin region seem to be more cautious aboutthis generous gift from their giant neighbor. Thailandhas 23 CI and Classrooms, compared to just one ineach of the rest of Mekong region countries (theproposed CI in Vietnam has yet to be set up). Incontrast to other foreign cultural institutions, such asthe British Council or Centre Culturel FrancaisL’Espace_ the CI chose to affiliate with publicuniversities and high schools. Every year, Hanbansends about 1,500 volunteer staff to Thailand andother countries in the Mekong region with the missionof bringing the Chinese language and culture to theThai and Mekong people.Local response to this new development is relativelydiverse. My conversations with local people inThailand and Vietnam indicate a variety of views onCI activities. Most Vietnamese people expressedhistory-based opinions that reflected concerns aboutthe establishment of CI in the country. They wereconcerned over risks of dependency on China. Bycontrast, Thai people see positive as well as negativeimpacts. They give at least four reasons for why they ortheir children should study Chinese culture andlanguage: 1) Learning and speaking the Chineselanguage distinguishes them “from the crowd” asEnglish is nowadays too popular; 2) MasteringChinese is a heartfelt aspiration of Thai-Chinese whoare deeply integrated into Thai society and no longerspeak their ancestral tongue. Studying Chinese is agood way to return to their origins and respect theirancestors; 3) The increasing presence of China inThailand and other Mekong basin countries bringsmore employment opportunities for local people whoare able to speak Chinese; 4) Princess Maha ChakriSirindhorn is often mentioned as an example of a greatlearner who has spent many years studying Chineseand gaining a background in Chinese culture.The question can be raised as to why China investssuch large effort into supporting many CI in Thailand,and why Thailand has shifted from previous policies ofThai-ization of Chinese immigrants to warmlywelcoming Chinese language and culture. The initialfindings of this study suggest that Thailand perhapsoccupies an important position within China’sdiplomacy in the Mekong region and in theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)generally. While this hypothesis needs furtherempirical data to prove, it is certain that China’scultural expansion is built upon its global strategy toconduct a “charm offensive”.NOTES123456This paper is the result of an API fellowship award by theNippon Foundation for 2010-2011. I would like to thankProf. Sunait Chutintaranond, IAS Director atChulalongkorn University; Prof. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti,RCSD Director at Chiang Mai University; Prof. ShimizuHiromu, CSEAS Director at Kyoto University for theirwarm hospitality and support during my affiliation with theirinstitutions. My deep gratitude goes to Prof. Fu Zengyou,Director of the Confucius Institute at ChulalongkornUniversity; Prof. Cen Rong Lin, Co-Director of theConfucius Institute at Mae Fah Luang University; Dr. YuQinwei, Director of the Confucius Institute at Chiang MaiUniversity; and many more faculty staff working at variousCI in Thailand. They spent hours meeting me and sharingwith me their common interests. I am also very grateful to theNational Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) forsupporting my research in Thailand; Dr. Thanya Sripana(Chulalongkorn University) and Dr. Thanet Aphornsuvan(Thammasat University) for their kind assistance and forsharing with me their wisdom. I do believe that without theirassistance, this small piece of study could not have beenrealized, though I do understand that the study needs morework to meet the requirements of all readers, and I am aloneresponsible for that.On April 6 th 2009, the Vietnam Government Officeofficially issued document No. 1992/VPCP-QHQT toannounce that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had agreedto permit a pilot project of the Confucius Institute to be builtin Vietnam. The document however did not mention indetail how, when and where the institute was to beinaugurated. Source: http://vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban (Accessed 1 July2012)Interviews with Dr. Yu Quinwei, Director of the ConfuciusInstitute at Chiang Mai University, Thailand on 1 December2010.A survey conducted by the Newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong[Labor] reported that Departments of Chinese Studies atvarious universities in the country found it difficult to findstudents to register for Chinese language as students couldnot find jobs after graduation. See: Nganh Ngoai Ngu TeoDan [Foreign language studies narrows down] in: Nguoi LaoDong, 17 May 2011.For further information on the global mission of China’sConfucius Institutes, see the long interview in GuangmingNet with Dr. Xu Lin, Director General of Hanban, posted atthe following site: http://english.hanban.org/article/2010-08/16/content_167061_7.htm (Accessed 1 July 2012)As informed by this institution at its website (http://www.pbic.tu.ac.th/main/node/968),? The Chinese StudiesInternational Program at Pridi Banomyong InternationalThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows