The infiltration and theft of academic results at top universities in the West by some of the research scholars trained under China’s “Thousand Talents Program” has raised concerns among Canadian intelligence and academic experts, who have called on Ottawa to take action to close the loopholes.
Both the U.S. and Australia have begun to pay attention to and investigate the problem of China’s global absorption and theft of relevant scientific and technological research results, and a Canadian intelligence investigation has revealed that at least 15 Canadian scholars have participated in Beijing’s Thousand Talents Program, including experts in quantum computing, cutting-edge electronics and engineering, vaccines, chemistry, and artificial intelligence.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a professor at the University of Ottawa, believes this number is a significant underestimate, saying that all of Canada’s major universities have many collaborative research projects with China, including artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum optics. Canadian academic research is given to the military in overt or covert ways through research scholars. “Our researchers may be completely unaware that the research they do becomes part of the Chinese military’s use, and we think they’re trusted colleagues, there’s no problem, and we’ve heard other researchers in the past say, I’ve known so-and-so for 20 years, he wouldn’t do that. In the past, I’ve heard other researchers say, “I’ve known so-and-so for 20 years and he wouldn’t do that.
Gu Ming (a pseudonym), who has held a senior executive position with the Canada-China Science and Technology Association for many years, told the station that the Chinese government has been setting up bases and deploying party groups overseas to study or steal Western technology for more than two decades. The University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia have party groups within their prestigious Canadian universities, and the Canada-China Science and Technology Association is one of the liaison stations. “These people are here to do research and study for their doctorates, and they were all paid by the state to come here in the first place, and they all have party groups inside. It’s through these associations that China reaches out to foreign research units and senior research scholars. All the scientific and technological talents either call you to come here to do research or to buy your stuff, and if I can’t buy your stuff, I will try to steal it. To be frank, China has been playing this game for more than two decades.”
For example, the Conference Board of Canada published a report in 2016 stating that the “Thousand Talents Program” provides salaries, research funding, and other incentives to participants who work in China and elsewhere. Overseas universities are conducting research and activities. After finding evidence of technology transfer in recent years, Canadian Intelligence has spoken with universities and other research institutions to express its concerns about the Thousand Talents program and other foreign recruitment programs.
But it appears that the universities have done little to address the situation. Former Canadian Intelligence Director Richard Fadden said that if universities are unable to act on their own because of academic freedom concerns, then Ottawa should limit the areas of research in which they collaborate with China. The government should make it clear that you can’t research and learn in certain areas, you can’t invest in certain areas,” he said. Of course China might be angry about that, but they don’t allow Canada to do a lot of things in China either. So reciprocity is an important principle in international relations.”
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