cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/12011249
Students are being taught that Britain must forge closer links with China in a textbook accused of peddling “propaganda”, The Telegraph can reveal.
The A-level book, widely used in schools by British teenagers studying Mandarin, says the UK should “deepen cooperation” with Beijing in the wake of Brexit.
Using language associated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), it also promotes:
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- The “positive impact” of Chinese students coming to the UK
- The “crucial role” of Confucius Institutes
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Pearson, the UK’s largest education and assessment company, which endorses the textbook for students taking its Edexcel A-level Chinese qualification, launched a review on Monday night.
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Luke de Pulford, co-founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international group of legislators working to reform the approach of democratic countries to China, likened parts of the textbook to “approved CCP propaganda”.
He said: “This is not an education, but an indoctrination. It would be an understatement to call these passages one-sided.”
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The book titled “Chinese for A-Level” is published by Cypress Books, which describes itself as the largest distributor for Chinese publications in the UK. A spokesman denied the book was propaganda.
The London-based company is under the overall control of the China International Communications Group (CICG) – the public relations and publishing arm of the Communist Party of China (CCP).
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In one section of the textbook, students are asked to translate into Mandarin a 124-word passage written in English that describes how Brexit has weakened the UK’s financial standing.
The passage states that the growth of trade between the UK and China has “stalled” in recent years as “the market uncertainty created by the UK’s exit from the EU has weakened its influence in the global financial system, causing China to be more cautious about investing in the UK”.
It says that “in light of these circumstances”, the two countries “must enhance communication, seek win-win cooperation opportunities, and find mutually beneficial solutions”.
The phrase “win-win cooperation” is a favourite of the CCP. It was first used by Xi Jinping, the CCP’s general secretary, during a state visit to Russia in 2013, where he reportedly proposed a “new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation”. Chinese officials use it frequently in official statements about foreign policy and international relations.
The phrase is used again in another passage – this one written in Mandarin that students are asked to translate into English – which states that the UK and China should “deepen their cooperation”.
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The textbook also repeatedly states that the UK and China should seek cooperation and trade outcomes that are “mutually beneficial”, which is another commonly used phrase by the CCP.
Mr de Pulford said: “These excerpts are – word for word – approved CCP propaganda. When Beijing says ‘win-win cooperation’ they mean that Xi Jinping’s Party-State wins twice.”
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In an exercise, students are asked to describe the “positive impact” of the presence of Chinese students in the UK.
The book describes some “challenges”, including visa restrictions and funding limitations, but makes no mention of the growing concerns about Chinese interference at British universities in recent years or the fears of espionage.
Last month, MI5 issued an unprecedented public alert to universities warning that China’s intelligence service was using a front company to fund research by UK academics which it was using to improve its spying capabilities.
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This chapter also praises the “crucial role” of the Confucius Institutes, the controversial units embedded in universities around the world which are run and part-funded by an arm of the Chinese state.
The institutes have been accused of acting as a front for the CCP to spread propaganda, spy on students, and clamp down on critical views of Beijing.
The UK has been reported to have 30 of the institutes – more than any other country – including at the universities of Manchester, Coventry and Liverpool.
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[Edit typo.]
Confucius Institutes aren’t just providing Chinese language courses, they also undermine academic freedom at the universities that host them, engage in espionage, monitor Chinese students and citizens abroad, and attempt to promote the Chinese government’s political line on controversial issues such as human rights in China, Tibet, Taiwan, and others.
I don’t like this guy and the U.S. policy, but Confucius Institutes have been banned in several European countries and other democracies (Germany, Sweden, Australia, and others).
These institutes are not just spreading isolated ‘fake news’ but are rather engaged in orchestrated disinformation and misinformation campaigns. There is much evidence about that.
Thank you for engaging in a conversation, what’s the point of Internet if it’s to talk alone right ?
I think that a debate worth having here is that China isn’t a democracy and neither are we(, not in the traditional sense used for centuries, we’re an oligarchy because we’re electing instead of voting), but i could prove why they’re more “democratic” than our bourgeois “democracy” if you want(, and that we hypocritically supported dictatorships).
If our capitalists don’t believe that any of the millions of type of workers-owned cooperatives could do better than their top-down decisions, to the point that there’s not even a need to experiment, then the surplus value they took from the worker/consumer should be locked for investments, not higher salaries or dividends. As per our orthodox theories claim their selfishness will naturally do.
I could say more about anti-capitalism, or about China’s “democracy” if you desire.
I also hope that i’ll learn from you in this discussion.
He says without giving me any evidence :)
Any CCP propaganda that goes against western propaganda is disinformation, just like any media spreading the russian narrative, that was my point in my previous comment.
When i meet people in the street or in supermarkets, they’re so awfully nice/gentle, so why are our representatives unwilling to at least research the set of rules that would enable a lasting peace ?
If it’s as simple as “capitalism would be destroyed by the truth, and capitalists are selfish”, then why should i defend the west, there must be more to our refusal of even seeking to make this world better.
Neo-colonialism is unjust, lucrative properties are theft, negative externalities should be countered right now without wasting any more time. There are things to improve in our world, having enemies is not a necessity, of course.
Well, just tell me in which direction you want this discussion to go, we can stay on the Confucius Institutes, or go larger on China, or socialism, or how to live in security/peace united in diversity.
China’s Confucius Institutes (as well as other organizations such as the United Front) have been subject to a large number of investigations for years. The institutes have been banned and/or restricted in several countries as I have mentioned. A simple search is enough to quickly find good sources for that.
China’s government does not want to live in diversity, just look at so-called Ethnic Unity Law introduced this year.
But to answer your question: the content of your write-up and its tonality are such that I don’t want to engage in any further discussion.
Alright then, i won’t delve into a long research with you(, about the accusations of spying, launching vast campaigns of “disinformation”, …), but i found that part especially cartoonish :
Or, e.g., that a translation exercise favorably presenting China mean that students are indoctrinated 🤷
If you wanted to talk about real western interferences then i could have made a list with much stronger accusations(, e.g.), but in short i hope that we’ll still learn chinese without these institutes, and that cultural diplomacy will obviously continue to exist
Ethnic Unity Law
There’s again a lack of arguments so i don’t know what to defend, but : chinese minorities benefit from learning mandarin in order to get a job ; we(sterners) aim to promote separatism in Tibet/Xinjiang/Hong-Kong/Taiwan/… ; i claimed “unity in diversity”, not only “diversity”(, we{humans} aren’t united nor diverse enough i.m.o.)
It feels a bit cowardly on my part but i won’t insist since you don’t want to speak with people you have deep disagreements with, and neither of us want a “hot” discussion which may devolve into insults, so i won’t annoy you( any further), take care :)
edit : good for them ? https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/2053319444647358607