Al Jazeera cited a report in the British newspaper The Times that 200 British academics are under investigation for allegedly inadvertently helping the Communist government build weapons of mass destruction.
The Times said the British government suspects the academics may have unwittingly helped the Chinese Communist Party build weapons of mass destruction.
Nearly 200 British academics at more than 12 British universities are under investigation for allegedly inadvertently helping the Chinese Communist government build weapons of mass destruction, The Times reported Monday.
Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said the academics allegedly unknowingly violated export laws designed to prevent intellectual property on highly sensitive subjects from being given to hostile countries.
The Times said the government is preparing to issue enforcement notices to academics suspected of transferring research on advanced military technologies such as aircraft and missile designs and cyber weapons to the Chinese Communist Party.
They could face up to 10 years in prison if found to have violated the Export Control Order 2008.
The security services fear the research could help Beijing develop weapons of mass destruction and be used to suppress political dissidents and minorities, including the Uighurs.
“We could see dozens of academics in court before long,” a source told The Times.” Even if 10 percent are successfully prosecuted, we will see about 20 scholars go to jail for helping the Chinese (Communist) state build superweapons.”
A British government spokesman stressed to the Times that “exporters of military goods and those engaged in the transfer of specific military technology, as set out in the Export Control Order 2008, require a license to export or transfer from the UK.
At the same Time, the Times said, a study by the London-based civil society think tank Civitas reported that 20 British universities had deals with 29 Chinese universities and nine military-linked companies, including deals with Chinese arms groups.
The Times said Radomir Tylecote, the study’s lead author and a former Treasury official, expressed concern that research sponsored by Chinese (communist) organizations could have “inadvertent dual-use” military capabilities. He highlighted possible problems with research into hypersonic technology as Beijing seeks to develop hypersonic missiles, as well as research into graphene, a material that is beginning to be used in armored Chinese helicopters.
The newspaper quoted Tercotte as saying the work could help “improve the reputation and general business of universities and military or part of military groups linked to the Communist Party’s military.”
In 2019, the Communist Party’s military displayed the Dongfeng-17 (DF-17), a new hypersonic ballistic nuclear missile, at a military parade for the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party’s founding. The weapon is believed to be capable of breaching all existing missile defense systems deployed by the United States and its allies.
Last week, the University of Manchester ended a research project with China Electronics Technology Group (CETC) after a British parliamentary committee expressed concern that the state-owned company’s technology was being used against the Uighurs.
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