Speech by Director Zhao Qizheng Foreign Affairs Committee, CPPCC Public Diplomacy and Communication between Cultures

Transcription

1 Speech by Director Zhao Qizheng Foreign Affairs Committee, CPPCC Public Diplomacy and Communication between Cultures :30-9:30a.m. Sapphire Ballroom, Lotte Hotel Seoul

2 Speech The 44 th Korea Foundation Forum Public Diplomacy and Communication between Cultures by Director Zhao Qizheng Foreign Affairs Committee, CPPCC The 44 th Korea Foundation Forum, July 5, 2012 at 7:30-9:30 a.m. Sapphire Ballroom, 3 rd Floor, Lotte Hotel, Seoul Dear distinguished guests, I am honored to be invited by the Korea Foundation to the publication party of my modest work, How China Communicates with the world: China s Public Diplomacy in the Globalized Era. First of all, I would like to thank the Korea Foundation for their offer to publish and support in the publication of the Korean translation of my work. I also want to thank Professor Hee-Ok Lee for translating my work. Professor Lee is a renowned scholar in the field of politics and international relations, and is very fluent in Chinese as well, thus I am certain that her translation is brilliantly done. I also want to thank NaNam Publications for working so diligently to produce such a well-made and designed book. China, in its practice of public diplomacy, has accumulated vast experience and knowledge in constructing working theories. This book is mainly focused on China s public diplomacy outlook and related theories. In the context of public diplomacy theories, there is a stated relationship between multicultural problems and Chinese culture, which is delineated as a point of departure. Today, I would like to discuss with you the real meanings of public diplomacy.

3 Traditionally, public diplomacy is about one state s government interacting with another state s public in order to foster better interstate relations and thereby advance their national interests. As we proceed into the 21 st Century, economic globalization has engendered more close-knit relations among states and many international phenomena have made public diplomacy an important foreign relations strategy. As a result, public diplomacy gradually is becoming more important. For example, the United States instituted the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in 1999 and the Foreign Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom has formally recognized Public Diplomacy as being under its aegis since about Korea established the Ambassador for Public Diplomacy in 2011 and Ambassador Ma Young Sam currently holds that position. Fortunately, I have had a chance to engage in dialogues with Ambassador Ma. Throughout more than 30 years of reform and its opening up, both China and the world have developed fast in terms of the economy and in other sectors of society. Because of these reasons, China has become more interconnected with the world and events happening in China have started to impact the entire globe. Also, the world has become an important external condition for China s development. Additionally, China s society and traditional culture are relatively new to the West, which means that they need more time to adapt and better understand China. Cold War memories and the perceptions of western politics and media on Chinese economy, society, and culture influence how they think about China and their perceptions, in many cases, these perceptions and opinions are untruths about the real China. In such conditions, strengthening the role of public diplomacy has become an important matter in China. The recent Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Exposition are what can be considered two major public diplomacy events that took place relatively recently in China. Aside from these two, the Chinese Ministry of Education and National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language have co-founded Confucius Institutes in 100 countries and 400 cities around the world. In May 2010, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the Public Diplomacy Affairs Office and in 2011, founded the Institution for Public Diplomacy in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong. The Ministry also held symposiums on the topic of public diplomacy over the past few years. As we look back at history, we can say that the Chinese People s Diplomacy Association, which was founded in 1949, was the first social institution for public diplomacy. People Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy are generally the same idea, but

4 Public Diplomacy was not used frequently back then. Of course, China s public diplomacy projects are very different in character compared to those European or US types. Along with economic globalization, the development of Internet and satellite television has brought the global village into reality. Also, people across the world interact daily and find interesting connections between their personal interests and national reputation. Thus, the public are not passive objects of public diplomacy but are the active participants in it. The Public includes private social institutions and NGOs in the fields of economy, culture, education, science, press, sports, arts, religion, et cetera. Government-led public diplomacy focuses on introducing the government s domestic and foreign policies to the foreign public. On the other hand, public-led public diplomacy projects should stay away from using sophisticated, social science idiom in order to win over a wide variety of audiences, such as the foreign public and foreign governments. Thus, each government s public diplomacy and private public diplomacy complement each other. We may say that public diplomacy is a dialogue between different cultures. Differences among cultures are evident in diverse values, religions, thought processes, lifestyle, and ideology, et cetera. Also, through these differences, we find the need for cross-cultural interactions. If there is lack of dialogue between different cultures, then critical misunderstandings and clashes may occur. China s public diplomacy speaks about China s reality, thus facilitating understanding among people across the world, and works hard to further progress and coexistence among societies. In this historical era, what we must understand is because states are closely interconnected; peaceful coexistence is the only proper answer for our world. Public diplomacy activities and research have a long history but the meaning of public diplomacy differs by nation and changes over time. I have attended numerous forums across the world over the last few years. Last May, I attended the Jeju Forum and felt the need for stronger interactions and comity among Asian states. I also had a chance to meet many professionals working in the government and private public diplomacy (e.g., Jong-ha Ryu, Ha-Young Moon, Jun-Kyu Lee, Byonghyon Kwon, Tae-Hwan Kim, and Yong-Kyu Park). My book, which was translated by Professor Lee, has detailed

5 information about the Forum. I am amazed at the development of Korean public diplomacy. For example, the cultivation of Korean Studies is not only about teaching Korean language and history, but also culture, politics, economy, military affairs, etc. We call this the New National Studies The New National Studies reminds me of the Chinese studies boom in China. In order to strengthen foreign relations, Chinese studies must include current affairs, not just the traditional. This is because that is what the foreign public are interested in. Like China, Korea has experienced massive participation of the public in the formerly government-led public diplomacy. The public have become participants in public diplomacy. The public expresses itself at various places to many of the foreign public as well as to foreign governments and its officials. I am very happy to see China and Korea experiencing similar changes at work in public diplomacy. China and Korea have rather similar cultures but our publics sometimes have misunderstandings and conflicts because of the differences in language, social structure, and the lack of interactions. In particular, among the youth netizens there are frequent clashes. In my opinion, these clashes should not occur and they are relatively easily resolved through more interactions. Likewise, I have a complete confidence in the potential impact of bilateral public diplomacy between Korea and China. Furthermore, if we strengthen our public diplomacy among China, Korea, and Japan and correct our historical misperceptions, I believe we can work out the tensions between us and take another step toward Asia s greater prosperity. Each country s associated ideas and concerning public diplomacy are different and are ever-changing in their development. Korea and China s goals for public diplomacy are distinguishable by the different international conditions each country faces. It would be great if the readers were to perceive these differences, and thus understand China in a deeper way. Any errors in the book are mine and I would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to point them out to me. Before I conclude, as a representative of China, I want to sincerely hope for a better relationship between China and Korea. Thank You.