HanBan
Encyclopedia
Hanban is the colloquial abbreviation for the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
of the People's Republic of China
.
program, but it also sponsors the Chinese Bridge competition, which is a competition in Chinese proficiency for non-native speakers. The current President of the Council is State Councilor Chen Zhili (陈至立)
. On April 2007 while inspecting Hanban, Li Changchun
, member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo in charge of ideology and propaganda stated that: "the construction of Confucius Institutes is an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world...(which is) part of China's foreign propaganda strategy""
According to the mission statement
: "Hanban is committed to developing Chinese language and culture teaching resources and making its services available worldwide, meeting the demands of overseas Chinese learners to the utmost degree, and to contributing to global cultural diversity and harmony." Generally, the Council is charged with cultivating knowledge and interest in the Chinese language and culture in nations around the world that are not native speakers of Chinese.
The following twelve state ministries and commissions are represented in the Chinese Language Council International:
Critics point to the potential for corruption and conflict of interest within the Hanban, which is supposedly a non-profit organization
but operates CI-related companies for profit. "For instance, in November 2009, Hanban launched a new company, which won the bid for over five million U.S. dollars from the Ministry of Finance to operate the CI’s website; the person in charge of this company is also the deputy director of Hanban."
Administration
It is governed by the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Zhongguo Guojia Hanyu Guoji Tuiguang Lingdao Xiaozu Bangongshi), a non-government and non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of EducationMinistry of Education of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China , formerly Ministry of Education, Central People's Government from 1949 to 1954, State Education Commission from 1985 to 1998, is headquartered in Beijing. It is the agency of the State Council which regulates all aspects of the...
of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Confucius Institute
Hanban is most notable for the Confucius InstituteConfucius Institute
Confucius Institutes are non-profit public institutions that aim to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, as well as facilitating cultural exchanges. They are sometimes compared to language and culture promotion organizations such as France's...
program, but it also sponsors the Chinese Bridge competition, which is a competition in Chinese proficiency for non-native speakers. The current President of the Council is State Councilor Chen Zhili (陈至立)
Chen Zhili
Chen Zhili is a senior female politician of the People's Republic of China, and the former State Councilor and Minister of Education of PRC. She currently serves as vice chairman of stading committee of 11th National People's Congress, vice chairman of organization commission of 29th Olympic...
. On April 2007 while inspecting Hanban, Li Changchun
Li Changchun
Li Changchun is the Propaganda chief of the Communist Party of China. He is the 5th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, China's de facto top power organ, and has been a member since 2002...
, member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo in charge of ideology and propaganda stated that: "the construction of Confucius Institutes is an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world...(which is) part of China's foreign propaganda strategy""
According to the mission statement
Mission statement
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
: "Hanban is committed to developing Chinese language and culture teaching resources and making its services available worldwide, meeting the demands of overseas Chinese learners to the utmost degree, and to contributing to global cultural diversity and harmony." Generally, the Council is charged with cultivating knowledge and interest in the Chinese language and culture in nations around the world that are not native speakers of Chinese.
The following twelve state ministries and commissions are represented in the Chinese Language Council International:
- General Office of the State Council
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Finance
- Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- State Development and Reform Commission
- Ministry of Commerce
- Ministry of Culture
- State Administration of Radio Film and Television (China Radio International)
- State Press and Publications Administration
- State Council Information Office and the State Language Committee
Critics point to the potential for corruption and conflict of interest within the Hanban, which is supposedly a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
but operates CI-related companies for profit. "For instance, in November 2009, Hanban launched a new company, which won the bid for over five million U.S. dollars from the Ministry of Finance to operate the CI’s website; the person in charge of this company is also the deputy director of Hanban."