China, Taipei battle over projecting soft-power through Mandarin

US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (left) with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. (Image: AP)

As tension rises in the Taiwan Strait following China’s threatening live-fire drills in the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s visit, a tussle between Taiwan and the mainland to influence the world through Mandarin learning centres has come back in focus.

Mandarin is spoken widely on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. But as Sino-American relations became strained over trade and technology in the past few years, Washington made a conscious effort to curb Chinese cultural activities in the United States and encouraged Taiwan to fill that space, especially for learning Mandarin.

Under Donald Trump’s presidency, the US Congress in 2018 passed a bill to cut funding for Chinese language and culture programmes offered by Confucius institutes at universities that host them.

The US State Department labelled the institutes `foreign missions’ of the People’s Republic of China, and part of the communist party’s `multifaceted propaganda’ efforts. Many universities have closed them down over concerns of the Chinese communist party’s influence on the universities’ academic freedom.

Confucius Institutes have been controversial from the time they were established in 2004, as they censored education on topics like Taiwan and Tibet. The staff at the institutes were also accused of attempting to influence the curricula of existing Asian studies programmes at affiliated universities.

Nearly 89 Confucius Institutes in the US have closed down since 2017, leaving only 36 on campuses. As these institutes got shuttered, the US asked Taiwan to fill the void.

After Harvard University relocated its overseas Mandarin programme from China to Taiwan, others, like the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Pennsylvania State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Duke University, and the University of Illinois followed suit.

In 2020, under the US-Taiwan Education Initiative, Washington ended its educational alliance with China and encouraged more Taiwanese to teach Mandarin in the US. This year, Taiwan plans to send 36 teachers from 10 universities to the US, and invite 168 American students to study Mandarin. In the next 3-5 years, Taiwan proposes to open 100 centres for teaching the language abroad.

The Taiwanese programme integrates language training with awareness about Taiwan’s democracy and respect for human rights, to distinguish itself from Beijing’s Confucius Institutes. But it is also investing in teaching English, as President Tsai Ing-wen wants to make Taiwan bilingual by 2030.

In 2021, the US ended its Fulbright exchange programme in China and Hong Kong, and increased funding for Taiwan’s Fulbright programme. Some universities switched to Taiwan for more pragmatic reasons, as the island remained unaffected by COVID-19 and most of its universities did not suspend in-person classes.

The number of Chinese speakers has increased significantly as many local schools have adopted Mandarin in their syllabus and offer students an opportunity to learn the language. The Confucius Institutes assist these classrooms by supplying them with study material and often, also with teachers.

China had continued its language classes online during the pandemic, with its Global Chinese Learning Platform that more than two million people from 170 countries had used.

Taiwan has begun to reach out to countries beyond the US, particularly Europe. This year it opened a new Taiwan Centre for Learning Mandarin (TCML) in Berlin, the third such centre after Hamburg and Heidelberg. In recent months universities In Dusseldorf, Ingolstadt, and Trier have also phased out their cooperation with China’s Confucius Institute.

Of the 45 TCMLs, 35 are in the US, with the rest spread across the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, and Hungary. But Taiwan is no match for China, which has 187 institutes in 41 European countries.

China says they act as bridges for people, and help them learn the Chinese language. It says these centres also promote people-to-people contact and cultural exchange between Beijing and other countries.

In the post-Tiananmen massacre period, China began to rebuild its image and found international support and goodwill for its efforts. But opinion began to change with its `Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy, the decision to hold two Canadians hostage, human rights violations in Xinjiang, and increased bullying of Taiwan.

In contrast, western countries have been taken in by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen’s charm offensive. They were impressed with her handling of the COVID-19 situation as Taiwan not only dealt with the situation on the island, but also helped other countries.

Taiwan’s decision to maintain a steady supply of microchips during a global shortage also helped to raise its image.

Nobody expects European countries to cut-off ties with China, a major economic and trade partner for most of them, but there has been a change in their opinion about Taiwan. Growing European friendliness towards Taiwan also has to do with their increasing wariness about China.

As a number of foreign correspondents are now based in Taiwan in the wake of China’s growing media restrictions, it has helped end Taiwan’s political isolation as most have begun to appreciate its democratic credentials. Publications like New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and correspondents from the UK, France, and other European countries— are all present on the island.

In the past, most reports on cross-Strait ties were written from Beijing. Now, because of ground reporting out of Taipei, Taiwan’s profile has grown.

Taiwan’s attempt to teach Mandarin may still be overwhelmed by Beijing’s economic clout and influence. But recent developments can boost its image and legitimise Taiwan’s existence as a sovereign island.