Queen’s Professor: Stop Demonizing China
Further to the post on the TDSB’s recent cancellation of its hook-up with the Confucius Institute, here’s a compelling commentary by James Miller, Professor of Chinese Religions at Queen’s University. Bravo Professor Miller!
China’s Confucius Institutes provide money and personnel to enable people across the world to learn Chinese and to learn about the Chinese world. Their astonishing success proves that Canadians have an immense hunger to learn about China.
But the demonization of China is a shameful, toxic flaw that runs deep in Canadian history and culture. It prevents rational discussion about Chinese culture, religion and politics. It prevents sensible engagement with the Confucius Institute program. It shamefully hinders the engagement of Chinese Canadians in our civic life, for who would dare subject themselves to the same treatment that Olivia Chow received?
In the end the only victims will be our children who will simply learn to repeat the same flaws and failures of their parents.
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