Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director, Volume 1: Challenges, Controversies, and Realities

This book offers behind-the-scenes insights into key leadership decisions, internal and external challenges, and the pivotal events that shaped this turbulent era. It also directly addresses the prevailing accusations against Confucius Institutes—that they operate as instruments of propaganda, geopolitical influence, or even espionage, and that they compromise academic freedom or surveil Chinese students abroad. These claims are critically examined through the lens of the author’s lived experience, exposing how political and media narratives in the West often amplify legitimate concerns while oversimplifying complexities and misrepresenting on-the-ground realities.