In a bid to expand its teaching of Chinese language and culture
abroad, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) plans to
establish four Confucius Institutes in Europe.?
"These will be our first overseas Confucius Institutes," said
Zhang Xiping, director of overseas sinology. "We have been
introducing foreign languages and cultures into China, now we are
becoming more active in teaching our own language and culture."
The BFSU is a leading university of foreign languages in China
and teaches a total of 42. It will jointly set up a Confucius
Institute with Germany's University of Erlangen-Nuremberg early in
May and three others in Italy and Belgium.
BFSU president Hao Ping told a symposium on the theme of "The
Chinese Dream and a Harmonious World" that the university was
attempting to share Chinese culture with people in other
countries.
The Confucius Institute program was designed by the National
Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language to promote
Chinese being taught abroad by qualified teachers with good
educational materials.
The first overseas Confucius Institute opened in Seoul, the
Republic of Korea, in 2004. Europe's first was established in
Stockholm University, Sweden, in February 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2006)