Confucius Institutes v2 (1)

56 CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF CHINA’S SOFT POWERAt Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Chinese Studies ishosted by the CI and is one of the major subjects at the Schoolof Languages. Chinese Studies has become an integral part of theuniversity academic system. According to the latest work report andmy conversations with directors, in 2013 the CI offered a moduleof Chinese Modern and Contemporary Fiction within the School’sexisting “Modern Fiction” course, with a focus on Mo Yan’s shortstories.Cultural activitiesLike their CI counterparts in other areas of the world, the SouthAfrican CIs conduct a number of cultural activities, includingcelebrations of Chinese holidays or traditional festival activities,introducing activities like tai chi or qigong, film screenings,calligraphy, paper cutting, and traditional Chinese medicine forinterested audiences. They also organized photo exhibitions, Chinesesong competitions, lectures, and seminars with academics and Chinaexperts. The Stellenbosch CI organized 70 cultural activities andacademic conferences during 2013. One example was a lectureby Prof. Chen Xiaoguang, Vice President of China Federation ofLiterary and Art Circles, on “100 Years of Chinese Songs.” 49 TheCIs at Cape Town and Rhodes University held a similar number ofactivities, with over 1000 participants in the latter’s activities. TheCI also held the 2013 Annual Rhodes University China Week on theChinese experience in South Africa and hosted the visiting StudentsArt Troupe from Zhejiang Normal University on their tour of Africa.CIs in South Africa and sensitive issuesPeople in charge of the three South African CIs I visited arevery aware of the heated debates surrounding CIs: debates aboutimproper influence, propaganda accusations, and the like, and theyclearly rejected the propaganda accusation. South Africans involvedin CIs noted that they have flexibility in terms of what they can do,and said they bring in their own ideas without constraint. But theyalso agreed that it is unlikely that certain topics would be addressedat a CI, such as a debate about Falun Gong.