South Korea will see the first of 100 Confucian
schools to be established in foreign countries by the China
National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
It is scheduled to open in Seoul on November 21 and
will be followed by many others, mainly in Asia, Africa and
Europe.
By collaborating with foreign universities and
educational organizations, they will enroll students who want to
learn Chinese from around the world.
Vice Minister of Education Zhang Xinsheng, at a
ceremony for a new?Confucius statue in the Beijing Language
and Culture University, said the schools are only the first
step. The number of these schools will increase as time goes
on.
Nearly 100 million people in foreign countries are
using and learning Chinese, and various teaching organizations in
around 100 countries run Chinese courses.
As Confucius (551-479 BC) was the most famous person in Chinese
history, his name has been chosen to promote the scheme.
(China.org.cn by Guo Xiaohong, November 18, 2004)