The concept of greater China in higher education: adoptions, dynamics and implications

Abstract

Interpreting modernisation and globalisation in East Asia as processes of Westernisation creates confusion and discomfort among some academics from the region. To illustrate why such discomfort occurs, this article explores the changes in the higher education systems of Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China in terms of their 'Chineseness' as a potentially unifying regional identity that can be counterposed to Westernisation. The recent and polyvalent theme of 'Greater China' is invoked in this article to describe and interpret the institutional frameworks, within which higher education is developing in this imaginary region, as well as to establish possible discursive linkages in the continuing transformation and strategic reorientation of higher education and its role in the recent economic, political and socio-cultural developments. In this regard, the interrelated discourses of Chineseness and Greater China have the following functions: they imply regionalism; they enable a break with their imperial and colonial past; and they provide the basis for different kinds of hybridisation between Chinese and Western intellectual, educational and cultural traditions and values.

A year of change for Hong Kong: from east-meets-west to east-clashes-with-west

“…The unbounded nature refers to the situation where the cultural mixtures are nested in the global knowledge network. Based on this conceptual understanding, globalisation means hybridisation and heterogenisation, rather than homogenisation (Lo, 2016). However, the formulation and existence of such an inter-referencing framework only happens in a political circumstance, where Chinese authorities appreciate, or at least tolerate, the cultural differences and the associated dissent embedded in the hybrid model.…”

Re-examining Higher Education Internationalization in Taiwan: University Strategies for Implementing Overseas Programmes

“…As Lo (2016) mentioned, within the context of globalization and modernization, asserting the value of 'Chineseness' has been considered a powerful response to the trend of Westernization in the Asia-Pacific region. A similar trend was observed among the case study universities.…”

Application of Multicultural Music Education Concept in Chinese National Music Education

“…With the trend of globalization and the acceleration of modernization, China, like many other countries in the world, has undergone tremendous changes in cultural ecology in recent years. Popular music backed by powerful commercial activities and other factors have brought great impact on the national music culture, and have brought resistance to the protection and inheritance of ethnic music [6]. At present, the intangible cultural heritage is getting more and more impact.…”