Confucius Institutes are public educational and cultural promotion programs funded and arranged currently by the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), a government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGO) under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. The Confucius Institute program was formerly under Hanban, an organization affiliated with the Chinese government. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.
Confucius Institute of Brittany in Rennes, France
A Confucius Institute at Seneca College in Toronto, Canada
British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Li Changchun at a signing ceremony in London, 17 April 2012, for the agreement between Confucius Institute of China and Bangor University on the establishment of Confucius Institute at Bangor University, United Kingdom. The agreement was signed by John Hughes, vice-chancellor of Bangor University, and Xu Lin, director of the Confucius Institute.
Simplified Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language, with the other being traditional characters. Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore, while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Excerpt of initial 1935 simplifications promulgated by the Republic of China Department of Education in 1935, later retracted in 1936
The slogan 战无不胜的毛泽东思想万岁!; Zhàn wúbù shèng de Máo Zédōng sīxiǎng wànsuì!; 'Long live the invincible Mao Zedong Thought!' written in simplified characters on Xinhua Gate in Beijing
