Chinese Interference in UK Academia
- over UK universities by threatening to withdraw scholarships or funding for Chinese nationals in the UK".[1] ***.[2]
- Indeed, in some cases, China does not even have to issue a threat. Professor Steve Tsang (Director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS))—who is known for being willing to challenge the CCP's narrative—told the Committee that institutions were actively avoiding taking action themselves for fear of upsetting the Chinese: he had been asked by *** the University of Nottingham not to accept any media requests during the visit of President Xi Jinping to the UK in 2015, for fear of causing offence to the Chinese.[3]
- In terms of exerting control and influence, China does not just rely on the leverage that its student fees buy it; it also provides direct investment to academic institutions so that it can guarantee input into academic programmes, direct research (discussed later in this Case Study) and ensure that UK students are taught an interpretation of China that reflects the CCP's interests. The latter is primarily conducted through the Confucius Institutes in the UK.
- There are 29 Confucius Institutes in the UK, with more than 160,000 registered students (not all of whom will be Chinese). They carry out entirely legitimate activities, such as fostering cultural ties and providing language teaching. However, they have also been accused of stifling academic debate about sensitive issues, such as Tibet. Confucius Institutes are run, and part-funded, by the Hanban, an educational organisation that is ultimately controlled by the CCP's Central Propaganda Department—an association that means that comparisons with the British Council or the Institut Français are misleading at best. The Hanban's charter stipulates that Confucius Institutes must obey Chinese law.
- Confucius Institutes often occupy premises on university campuses free of charge, and some also provide funding to the university with which they are associated, meaning that the line between the institutions can become blurred. For example, it has previously been reported that the Nottingham University School of Contemporary Chinese Studies received money from the university's Confucius Institute to fund core academic activities—thereby giving it influence over who came to speak at the university on Chinese issues.
- The Intelligence Community assess that Confucius Institutes are utilised by the Chinese government in order to dissuade universities from engaging in debates that the CCP considers to be unsuitable topics. The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) Chair told us in October 2020 that the operations of Confucius Institutes were primarily concerning for their role in intimidation:
The Confucius Institutes, I would say, are more of an instrument for pursuing that and at one level, if one takes it as a purely cultural issue, one could equate it with the British Council, but of course nothing in China is that simple and they are undoubtedly following a government line.[4]
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