Confucian Reigns

Tibet under the monks was
no Shangri La. Nevertheless,
I was saddened that the
Dalai Lama was given a
dusty reception in certain
quarters when he dropped into
Derry last month.
There are times the way the
Dalai is treated wouldn’t bother
me a bit. I’d be iffy about the
authenticity of any mystic monk
hailed as the 74th manifestation of
the Bodhisattva of Compassion in
a line which leads back to a blessed
Brahmin boy who was a personal
pal of the Buddha’s.
I gather that beggars always
brightened up when the Buddha
heaved into view, knowing
that the cuddly contemplative
could never refuse a plea for
alms. Giving rise, I wouldn’t
be surprised, to the wise words
eventually reworked by Woody:
“Buddha, can you spare a dime.”
The Dalai didn’t distribute dosh
in Derry but did dispense pearls of
wisdom along the lines of, “Good
people prefer peace to war.” Which
may be a mite banal but makes
more sense than most political
pronouncements on the North.
And what’s more, even to those
of us who reckon the Dalai isn’t
all his fundie followers crack him
up to be, he doesn’t seem to do
anybody any harm either.
On top of all that, he’s chums
with Richard Moore who was
blinded by a plastic bullet at the
age of 10, later made friends with
the soldier who’d fired it, and
now directs the charity Children
in Crossfire. The sight of Richard
and the red-robed chuckler he calls
“Your Holiness” (the Dalai Lama
describes Richard in return as “my
hero”) dandering hand-in-hand
across the Peace Bridge in blustery
sunshine at the head of a straggly
procession was so charming even
hard-hearted materialists could
scarce forbear a smile.
But the managers of Magee
College, the local campus of the
University of Ulster (UU), saw
things less serenely. They look on
the man from Tibet as a danger
to all they hold dear. They were
pitched into panic at learning he
planned to call in at a “conflict
resolution centre” (CRC) attached
to the university. Determined to
stop the dread event proceeding,
high-ranking academic hob-nobbers screeched down phones
and caterwauled in corridors.
But too late. The Dalai’s drop-by
couldn’t be cancelled.
Those who’d sponsored the
visit were then harassed and
harangued and told in “no
uncertain terms” that there’d be
hell to pay if a picture of the Dalai
Lama on university premises
were to appear in the press. So
photographers were excluded
from a photo-op with a global
star. No pictures appeared of the
man at Magee.
Seems odd, until it’s discovered
that a sizable contingent of UU
bosses has recently returned from
a jaunt to China where they held
“constructive” talks with State
officials about developing “joint
ventures”. One joint enterprise is
already under way – a Confucius
Institute.
The UU has embarked on
this venture just as others are
divesting themselves of Confucius
Institutes. McMaster University
at Hamilton, Ontario, has
decided to close the Confucius
Institute on its campus following
a complaint from lecturer Sonia
Zhao that she had had to conceal
her membership of the religious
group Falun Gong in order to
keep her job. The Ontario Human
Rights Commission (OHRC) had
threatened to sue the university
on Ms. Zhao’s behalf if it didn’t
put a stop to this religious
discrimination.
But the institute was adamant
– it wouldn’t have a member of
Falun Gong about the place. So
the university told it to fold its
tent without further ado.
The universities of Manitoba
and British Columbia have now
refused offers from the Chinese
authorities to fund Confucius
Institutes on their campuses. The
same pattern is emerging in the
US as student groups cop on to
what’s involved in such a facility
setting up in their midst.
Confucius Institutes have
proliferated over the past decade.
They offer universities across the
world funding for lecturers and
language laboratories for teaching
Chinese, as well as opportunities
for senior staff to travel regularly
to China.
It’s part of the deal that the
institutes have a right to veto job
applicants and to ban study or
discussion of designated subjects
– the beliefs of Falun Gong, the
status of Taiwan, the origins of
the Korean War, the role of the
Dalai Lama…
Hence the consternation when
it was realised that Richard had
arranged for the man himself to
visit Magee.
Another thing: neither Martin
McGuinness nor Peter Robinson
felt able to accept an invitation
from Richard to meet his guest.
The two men were in China a few
months back for “trade talks”
with government officials and
are expected to retrace their steps
before the year is out.
Perhaps the UU should take
a gander at Section 75 of the
1998 Northern Ireland Act
which details the categories of
discrimination declared illegal
under the requirements of the
Belfast Agreement. I reckon the
Confucius Institute could well be
an illegal organisation here. This
could get interesting.
Not since the death of Princess
Di has there been such
an incontinent outflow of
misplaced emotion: the football
manager Alex Ferguson had
left his £2 million a year job for
a £2 million a year position as
“football ambassador” for the
same club.
We should give fervent thanks
that the great writer Jimmy
McGovern was on hand to speak
sense – “A bully with a face like a
slapped arse.”
Too kind, Jimmy.