De-risking British universities' over-reliance on China
You are cordially invited to a panel discussion in the Scottish Parliament hosted by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation.
9 May 2024
6:00pm - 7:00pm
Committee Room 3
Panellists
Alyssa Fong
Public Affairs and Policy Manager of the CFHK Foundation
Robert Clark
Author of the report titled "The Strategic Dependence of UK Universities on China – and where should they turn next?"
Dr. Sarah Liu
Senior Lecturer in Gender and Politics at the University of Edinburgh
MSPs (TBC)
Whilst the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts to extend its overseas intelligence gathering and foreign policy agenda on to UK campuses, it is the CCP’s ‘Military-Civil Fusion’ (MCF) strategy which further endangers national security, through attempts to rapidly expand its military modernisation programs, and ambitions for regional military hegemony across the Indo-Pacific – a critical region for UK foreign policy and national security.
The new study by Robert Clark investigates two overarching aspects of the dependence of UK universities on China. The first is the ability for UK higher education institutions, universities and academics, to financially de-risk from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in order to end the reliance on Chinese funding (in terms of international student fees, research grants and donations) made from Chinese entities which will often have the capacity to harm or compromise national security.
The second aspect of this research is concerned with highlighting how this over-reliance on the PRC negatively affects British campuses, including academic freedoms and high-risk research collaborations with Chinese entities linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation hope you can join this timely discussion about the Chinese influence on British education system.
To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to Alyssa Fong at alyssa.fong@thecfhk.org. Please note that a reservation must be made to attend the event.