“Influence from China”: Reading from Xi Jinping biography canceled

“Influence from China”
Xi Jinping biography reading canceled

The authors of a biography about China’s President Xi want to present their book at an online event, in cooperation between two Confucius Institutes and German universities. But the reading is canceled. One of the authors speaks of influence from China.

The cancellation of a planned reading from a biography published in Germany about the Chinese head of state Xi Jinping is causing criticism. Adrian Geiges, one of the authors of the book, told the German Press Agency that he was sure that the reading had been canceled because of the influence from China. The online event was planned for Wednesday in parallel at the Leibniz Confucius Institute in Hanover and at the Confucius Institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen, as a spokeswoman for Piper Verlag said.

One of the three directors of the Confucius Institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Markus Taube, was “surprised and shocked” by the rejection when asked by the dpa. “Our cooperation university in Wuhan has kindly explained to us that they would not think it would be good if we hold the event. We cannot understand that in the form,” said Taube. “This is the first time we’ve seen this at the Confucius Institute.”

The Confucius Institute in Hanover could not be reached for a comment at first. The publisher Piper, with which the book appears, made in a message “Chinese pressure” responsible for the short-term cancellation. “In Hanover, the Tongji University Shanghai, which runs the institute together with the Leibniz University, intervened. In Duisburg, the Consul General of China in Düsseldorf, Feng Haiyang, intervened personally to prevent the event,” it said.

Criticism from Leibniz University Hannover

According to Geiges, both Confucius Institutes spoke to him of influence from China. Numerous parties and politicians from Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia clearly criticized the approach, including Lower Saxony’s Minister of Science Björn Thümler from the CDU.

Author of the book “Xi Jinping – the most powerful man in the world” is also the “Welt” editor Stefan Aust. According to the publisher, the biography was published on July 1 of this year. According to the Confucius Institute in Hanover, Confucius Institutes are official cultural and educational institutions that are funded by a subdivision of the Chinese Ministry of Education. According to this, there are around 550 institutes worldwide, and almost 20 are based in Germany. Critics of the institutes see an influence of the Chinese state and the Chinese Communist Party on the institutions.

From the Leibniz University in Hanover it was said at the beginning of the week that the rejection was “unacceptable, strange and incomprehensible” for the university management. The university management will promptly seek a discussion with the board of directors of the cooperation partner and examine a possible further cooperation. The university invited the two authors and the publisher to hold the reading at the university. The invitation basically continues, it was also said from NRW.

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