In the Name of Confucius

In the Name of Confucius is the first documentary exposé of China’s multi-billion dollar Confucius Institute, a Chinese language and culture program set up in partnership with foreign educational institutions. Since 2004, CIs have found their way into over 1,500 universities and schools worldwide.When Canada's largest school board, the TDSB, is slated to open the world's largest Confucius Institute, the school trustees find themselves embroiled in a growing global controversy. Critics argue that the seemingly benign Confucius Institutes come at a significant cost—a loss of academic integrity, foreign influence, violations to human rights, and even potential infringements on national security. Beijing itself describes the CIs as an important part of China’s “overseas propaganda set up” and continues to open new institutes at a rate of one every week or two.Featuring the exclusive personal story of a former CI teacher, Sonia Zhao, and Canada's largest school board, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the film examines the risks that the Confucius Institutes could pose to our society—a loss of academic integrity, violations to human rights codes, foreign influence, and even potential infringements on national security.