Open letter to The University of Western Australia and its Confucius Institute

 

On 19th August 2020, on a program of ABC (Australia broadcast cooperation）, Jiang Ying, The director of the Confucius Institute（CI) The University of Western Australia, said she welcomes dissident artist like Badiucao and other academics to have events on topic like Tiananmen Massacre in Confucius institute.

Program Link https://www.abc.net.au/chinese/2020-08-20/new-document/12578716

 

This letter is from Badiucao and a group of Tiananmen Massacre survivors and China specialists：

Zhou Fengsuo, President of Humanitarian China,Number 5 on the most wanted list of Tiananmen Student Leaders in 1989.

Fang Zheng, President of Chinese Democracy Education Foundation, survivor of Tank attack at LiuBukou六部口 in the morning of June 4, 1989.

Hao Jian, Associate in Research, Harvard Fairbanks Center, cousin of Hao Zhijing, a student killed by Martial law troops in 1989

Badiucao，Chinese Australian artist， Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award 2019

We welcome Jiang Ying's agreement to host events about the Tiananmen Massacre. We like to help to organize and participate in the events and we believe it will help to ensure the nature of the events is objective and balanced.

The knowledge of the 1989 student movement and the Tiananmen Massacre is crucial to understand China's modern political and social development. However，due to the severe censorship on such topics for decades, most university students from China have very little and twisted understanding of it. Therefore, events about the history of Tiananmen Massacre will not only benefit Australia's local students, as well as help many Chinese students in UniWA to open their mind and vision on one of the most censored topics in China.

China's Confucius Institute is criticized globally. In Australia, NSW Government scraps CI program over foreign influence fears. In Canada, many universities are cutting ties with it.And America has designated CI as a foreign propaganda mission. The biggest reason for the backslash is the censorship CI brings to local universities and school, especially on topics like Tiananmen Massare, Taiwan, Tibet, HongKong's democratic movement and genocide on Uyghurs.

Director Jiang and CI at UniWA must not become tools for inserting Beijing's censorship and propaganda in Australia and actively fulfill your agreement on hosting events on Tiananmen Massacre with us. And we are happy to provide necessary help to make it happen.

24/08/2020

 

 

致西澳大学及其孔子学院的公开信，

 

2020年8月19日，在一档澳大利亚广播公司abc中文的直播节目中，澳籍华裔艺术家巴丢草向西澳大学孔子学院的蒋院长提问，“您会欢迎我这样的对于中国政府持异议态度的艺术家来西澳大学孔子学院做一些活动么？您会欢迎学者来西澳孔子学院讲述中国的天安门屠杀事件么。”蒋院长答应“欢迎”。

节目链接 https://www.abc.net.au/chinese/2020-08-20/new-document/12578716

这封公开信来自于艺术家巴丢草及多位六四屠杀见证人与相关学者:

周锋锁，人到中国主席，1989天安门运动通缉名单第五学生领袖

方政，中国民主教育基金会主席，六部口坦克碾压幸存者

郝建，哈佛大学费正清中国研究中心合作研究员，堂弟郝致京在六四被戒严部队杀害

巴丢草，澳大利亚华裔艺术家

我们对于蒋院长欢迎在西澳大学孔子学院举办关于《八九民运与天安门屠杀》活动的正式回应。为确保活动的公正性与客观性，我们愿意参与帮助举办和参加这些活动。

八九学运与六四屠杀是中国现代政治与民主发展的重要历史转折，了解它对于读懂当代的中国至关重要。然而可惜的是，由于六四事件在中国被北京政府被严厉审查与扭曲，许多来自中国的年轻学子甚至对于这场浩大民主运动以及之后的屠杀镇压闻所未闻。因此，讲述六四历史的活动，不但可以使得想要了解中国的澳洲本地学生受益，更可以拓宽被言论审查蒙蔽双眼的大陆学生视野，使他们有机会了解被中国政府与政治宣传所抹杀和扭曲的历史。

孔子学院在各国饱受争议和诟病。在澳大利亚，新南威尔士州教育部由于担心孔子学院在教育中助长外国影响而终止了与其合作的项目。在美国，孔子学院则被正式列为了国外使团。在这些对孔子学院的批评中，最重要的便是孔子学院涉嫌危害所在学校的学术独立与言论自由，特别是对于特定中国相关话题的审查，如天安门屠杀，台湾，西藏，香港民主运动，维吾尔种族迫害等。

因此，我们希望西澳大学孔子学院与蒋院长不要成为中国审查世界的跳板，履行在节目中的承诺，将此次活动落实，我们愿意提供所有必要的帮助。

 

 

24/08/2020