UK plans to replace Chinese language schools with teachers from Taiwan

London, Sept 20: A group of cross-party British lawmakers is in talks with Taiwan to provide Chinese-language teachers to the UK as the government seeks to phase out Confucius Institutes. The schools are effectively joint ventures between a host university in Britain, a partner university in China.

 

 

 

 

Chinese state-linked Confucius language learning and teaching project has been under heavy scrutiny as the bilateral relations between China and the UK continue to deteriorate. Taiwanese media reported that there are 30 branches of the institute operating across the UK. Notably, the schools are effectively joint ventures between a host university in Britain, a partner university in China and the Chinese International Education Foundation, a Beijing-based organization.

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier in 2014, current British Prime Minister Liz Truss had praised the network of Confucius classrooms. Serving as education minister at the time, she said the institutes "will put in place a strong infrastructure for Mandarin" in the UK. However, now the last week's reports suggested that she was prepared to declare China an "acute threat" to the UK's national security, placing it in the same category as Russia.

 

Last month revealed that only 14 British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are being trained to speak fluent Chinese each year. The lack of Chinese-language proficiency raised concerns for British diplomacy and also put language teaching under the spotlight. As per reports, such concerns are shared in the US, and Taiwan has stepped in.