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UK universities have been told by the government to step up their defences against intimidation and censorship from China and other states, as the security services launch an advisory scheme for threatened researchers.
The Cabinet Office will this week set up a centralised route to report attempts at academic interference as it warned that the higher education sector was a “prime target for foreign states”.
Sir Ken McCallum, director-general of MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, told a meeting of more than 70 vice-chancellors last week that China and other states were attempting to influence universities’ research and teaching.
He offered advice on countering methods — such as approaches through professional networking sites and financial inducements — commonly used by hostile powers.
The move to curb intimidation and censorship follows outrage last year over Chinese attempts to stop research at Sheffield Hallam University into alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Staff at the university raised concerns about publishing research into forced labour after Beijing blocked access to its websites and the institution’s office in China was visited by “threatening” security officials.
Laura Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery, initiated legal proceedings against the university, which insisted its decision was not based on a commercial interest in attracting lucrative Chinese students.
Beijing has strongly denied reports by human rights groups, researchers and UN investigators of the widespread use of forced labour in Xinjiang, describing such accusations as lies intended to undermine China’s reputation.
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This week the UK government will establish an “academic interfering reporting route” that universities can use to flag concerns about intimidation and censorship attempts from foreign states directly to the security services.
An advisory service offering training and help to academics and university administrators in dealing with such attempts is also being developed by the Department for Education.
MI5 has already formalised a system of advice to universities on collaborating with researchers in China through the Trusted Research initiative of the National Protective Security Authority.
Jacqui Smith, skills and universities minister, said: “Our universities’ world-class reputation makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors, who seek to erode that reputation by shaping or censoring research and teaching.”
Political parties have also been warned by McCallum to be on their guard against interference in the wake of a scandal over alleged Chinese spying in Westminster.
In November, MI5 warned that China’s state security ministry was using websites such as LinkedIn to contact and build relationships with parliamentary staff, MPs and peers to “collect sensitive information on the UK”.
Sir Keir Starmer, who last month became the first UK prime minister in eight years to visit China, has said London can seek to build economic ties with Beijing at the same time as acknowledging its threat to British institutions.
Dan Jarvis, security minister, said he wanted to “help universities get support from security experts” and ensure “people at the heart of our democracy know how to report foreign interference”.
Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, said the new centralised route would “empower institutions to report and take action more swiftly and confidently, knowing there is support in place”.
“This will help us maintain our learning environments as places where all students and staff can continue to inquire, study and discuss ideas freely,” he added.
