Chinese spy? Propagandist? Former Confucius Institute director tells his story

When Zeng Jinghan accepted an offer to lead the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University in England in 2018, he already had a plan to write a book.

“I thought it would be very interesting if I could write about something that I know a lot about and participate in it personally, like Richard Crossman’s The Diary of a Cabinet Minister,” Zeng said, referring to the British politician’s memoirs published half a century ago.

The job did not offer higher pay, and he was still an international studies professor with Lancaster at the time. Zeng, now with City University of Hong Kong, said he took the job because he wanted to learn more about how Confucius Institutes operated and believed engagement with China was important.

Zeng’s book, Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director, Volume 1: Challenges, Controversies and Realities, was published by Palgrave Macmillan earlier this year. It covers his six years as an institute director that began in 2019, including a detailed look at daily operations.

Zeng Jinghan, formerly with the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University, is a professor at City University of Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

The book also counters accusations that Confucius Institutes serve as spy hubs or vehicles for promoting Beijing’s state narratives.

Launched in 2004 and set up at universities around the world, Confucius Institutes are educational and cultural centres mainly funded by the mainland government to promote Chinese language and culture. There are about 500 institutes around the world.

South China Morning Post