China-critical UK academics describe extremely heavy' pressure from Beijing

"UK academics whose research is critical of China say they have been targeted and their universities subjected to extremely heavy pressure from Beijing, prompting calls for a fresh look at the sector's dependence on tuition fee income from Chinese students. The academics spoke out after the Guardian revealed this week that Sheffield Hallam University had complied with a demand from Beijing to halt research about human rights abuses in China, which had led to a big project being dropped."

"One UK-based China scholar has since described being a victim of death threats and a smear campaign, while another was sanctioned for her work on human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and can no longer travel to China to conduct her research. Others described soft or indirect pressure being brought to bear, leading academics to self-censor and risk-averse universities to avoid research that could bring them into conflict with China, which controls the flow of students to financially vulnerable UK universities."

"In February, Sheffield Hallam, home to the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC), a research institution focused on human rights, ordered one of its leading professors, Laura Murphy, to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China. Laura Murphy, a professor of human rights and contemporary slavery at Sheffield Hallam University, said a lot of academics felt it was too risky to speak out as they were worried about the consequences."

UK academics researching China report targeting, death threats, smear campaigns, travel sanctions, and other forms of pressure that impede human rights research. Universities have faced heavy pressure from Chinese authorities and related actors, resulting in dropped projects and limits on work into supply chains and forced labour. Sheffield Hallam University temporarily ordered a leading professor to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China, later lifting the ban and apologising after threats of legal action. Emails indicate commercial considerations influenced limits on research. Academics describe self-censorship and risk-averse institutional decisions driven by dependence on Chinese tuition income.

Read at www.theguardian.com