China has turned into one of the world’s most formidable powers in the last decade. Yet its “peaceful rise to power” has been misconstrued by many as a looming threat due to recent developments, especially in its territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
China is a military goliath, a manifestation of its vast reserves of hard power. Eventually, its rise has made it necessary for the country to turn to public diplomacy to temper its use of hard power with soft power.
Probably the most recognizable among its many public diplomacy initiatives is the ubiquity of Confucius Institutes and classrooms across the globe. These institutes aim at “meeting the demands of foreign Chinese learners and contributing to the development of multiculturalism and the building of a harmonious world” through the establishment of institutes and classrooms that promote and teach Chinese language and culture.
First established in Korea in 2004, it has grown to about 500 institutes and 1,000 classes across 140 countries. The institutes are joint ventures between a foreign university and Hanban while classrooms are partnerships of the government with elementary and high schools. Thousands of Chinese language teachers have been deployed to these institutes and classrooms around the world to foster awareness and appreciation on Chinese culture. To cater to more learners, the Chinese government also funded the establishment of online Confucius Institutes and Radio Confucius Institutes.
But has China been able to achieve its goal of making more people understand and appreciate Chinese culture through its Confucius Insitutes? Despite different varying opinions from different governments, CI’s 14-year influence has been evident in the figures. The global demand for learning Chinese is said to have dramatically risen, in large part because of China’s economic boom and the undeniable presence of the Chinese people around the world.
So far, more than seven million students have flocked to the nearest CI worldwide for training while more than two million students currently enrolled in at least one program. There are about 67 countries at present which have enacted laws and regulations to include Chinese in their respective national education curriculums. Aside from that, Chinese majors or courses are offered in more than 170 countries.
Different activities and events facilitated by CIs have not only fostered knowledge and appreciation of Chinese values, cultures, and ideas; they have also built and strengthened people-to-people ties between the Chinese and other nationalities around the world.
Despite China’s overwhelming presence in global affairs, CIs have provided millions of people around the world with a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and values, thus dispelling some long-held prejudices about this global giant.
In Africa, most especially, this practice has been well-received, supported by economic and diplomatic ties between the two. Currently there are more than 50 Confucius Institutes in the continent which also funds scholarships to selected number of students to study in China. For some of Africa’s most impoverished areas, the opportunities available in the various CIs means having a future to look forward to.
Sentro Rizal
The closest the Philippines has to the Confucius Institute is Sentro Rizal. Established by virtue of Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Heritage Law of 2009, these cultural centers aim to promote Philippine language, values and culture overseas.
From 2011 up to present, more than 20 Sentro Rizal offices, centers, and facilities have already been set up in various Filipino Foreign Service Posts around the globe.
While Sentro Rizal means well to the Filipino diaspora, a cultural expansion to non-Filipinos has yet to be fully explored. If there is one thing Sentro Rizal can pick up from the Confucius Institute, it is to spearhead more programs and activities aimed at winning the hearts and minds of foreign publics.
Millions of people around the world are captivated by the country’s Asian mystique and the warmth of Filipino hospitality. What often begins as a vacation to the Philippines often stokes the flames of curiosity, making them interested to learn more about Philippine heritage, values, and culture. The Philippines has much to gain if our various Sentro Rizal cultural centers create sustainable and sustained efforts in engaging the foreign audience.
This could potentially be an all-encompassing and long-term strategy towards promoting Philippine soft power in its various forms–food, heritage, history, arts, culture. Like the best practices of CI, Sentro Rizal can explore more partnerships with museums, universities, and other companies and institutions in their host countries.
Scholarships to study in the Philippines can also be made available to deserving foreign students for them to deepen their understanding on one of ASEAN’s most dynamic countries. These scholarships often produce students who can speak for the Philippines when they return to their home countries. Because of their experience, they appear as more genuine storytellers about Philippine arts and culture.
The goal of Philippine public diplomacy to the international community is to leverage our soft power, which we indubitably have in spades. Unleashing the potential of Sentro Rizal will be critical in achieving this.
What the Philippines lacks in economic resources to establish the same number of Sentros Rizal as the China’s CI, it makes up for in the strategic management of the resources it has at hand–the Filipino community, for example, in each host country. As they say, it is not about how much you have but what you do with what you have that matters.
As the old man Confucius said, “when it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, we don’t adjust the goals, we adjust the action steps.”
Michael Diosim Endab
Silliman University College of Mass Communication
[email protected]
