King’s College, Cambridge, UK.
More than a dozen British universities are being investigated by Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (also known as MI6) for business ties to the Chinese Communist regime that may violate laws designed to protect national security and human rights.
British spy agency investigating British universities
The Mail on Sunday revealed Feb. 7 that these institutions – which include some of Britain’s most prestigious universities – may be subject to “enforcement notices” from HM Revenue and Customs for allegedly violating export controls in their dealings with the Chinese Communist government.
British security services are understood to be concerned that some academics are sharing cutting-edge British technology with the Chinese Communist Party, which could help the authoritarian Communist government crack down on ethnic minorities and dissidents.
The Mail on Sunday agreed not to reveal the name of the university at the center of the investigation, citing national security concerns.
The security services investigation, led by MI6 officials seconded to the British Foreign Office, was launched amid growing concern in Downing Street that academics are involved in a “new Gold rush” to strike deals with China on cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs.
A British government spokesman said, “Exporters of military goods and those engaged in the transfer of military technology – including universities and academics – as set out in the Export Control Order 2008 need to obtain an export or transfer license from the UK. It is their responsibility to comply with the regulations.”
Last week, the University of Manchester canceled an agreement with a Chinese military technology company after it was warned that the company provided technology platforms and applications used by Beijing‘s security forces for mass surveillance of Uighur Muslims.
The university said it was unaware of the alleged role of the Chinese electronics technology group in persecuting Uighurs until it received a letter from the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee pointing out the links.
Tom Tugendhat, the committee’s chairman, wrote in a letter to the Sunday Mail on 7 July that “some in British universities have lost their moral compass and are not promoting academic freedom, but are undermining our strategic interests.”
The Conservative MP argued that Britain is making a mistake by opening up its universities too much. “We are handing over secrets that will help an often hostile nation to become the most powerful military power of the 21st century.”
The government’s investigation comes after a report by the Henry Jackson Society last October criticized the government for failing to prosecute any academics who violated export controls.
Think tank report: Communist China is using research from British universities
Separately, a report released on the 8th revealed a surprising level of collaboration between British universities and Chinese academic centers, many of which have deep research ties to the People’s Liberation Army. The study, by think tank Civitas, accuses 14 of Britain’s top 24 universities of having links to Chinese weapons groups and military-related research centers involved in nuclear weapons programs and the development of future technologies.
The study suggests that scientific discoveries at British universities have the potential to advance the Communist Party’s military hegemony by assisting China in developing hypersonic missiles, radar jamming systems, robots, spacecraft and stealth vehicles.
British taxpayers,” said Radomir Tylecote, the study’s lead author and a former Treasury official, “are paying for research that may inadvertently help the Chinese Communist Party’s military gain potential dominance soon. This is strategically misplaced – especially when British research spending for its own military needs is so anemic.”
Civitas revealed that China Electronics Technology Group, which admits its purpose is to “exploit” civilian electronic systems for the benefit of the Communist Party’s military – supports the work of four military-related universities in the People’s Republic of China and has ties to seven British universities.
The giant company is seen as one of the main architects of the Chinese Communist Party’s “evil surveillance state.
The think tank’s report – entitled Arming China? The Chinese Military Complex and Its Potential Use of British University Research,” examines the relationships between 20 British universities and 29 military-linked universities in China and nine military-related companies, including some of China’s largest weapons suppliers.
A dozen of the Chinese universities were deemed “very high risk” by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, while another 10 were described as “high risk “Civitas emphasizes that all U.K. universities are at risk.
Civitas, which emphasizes the goodwill of all British universities, has turned its attention to some of the UK’s most prestigious academic institutions amid concerns about the growing belligerence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Pathetic! British universities deceive themselves
These universities all insist that their work is for the wider benefit of society, that many of their findings are published openly in the scientific literature, and that they strive to comply with all rules designed to protect security and intellectual property.
Civitas reports that the University of Cambridge collaborated with China’s National University of Defense Technology, a U.S.-sanctioned military research institution.
Beijing boasts that the collaboration will “greatly enhance China’s capabilities in the fields of defense, communications and …… High-precision navigation”.
A Cambridge spokesman told the Mail on Sunday, “All research at the university is subject to ethical governance and export control regulations.” Imperial College, another of the world’s leading British science centers, has three research units sponsored by major Chinese weapons manufacturers. Its spokesman said, “Science is a global enterprise and we are proud to work with our colleagues in academia and industry around the world.”
Civitas accused Manchester University of providing “a British taxpayer-funded research center for a major Chinese nuclear missile group.” A subsidiary of the U.S.-sanctioned company also funds a research unit at Strathclyde University, which plays a leading role in British space research.
The University of Manchester is also working with Chinese funders to develop graphene, a revolutionary new material that won two researchers from the university a Nobel Prize and is seen as having great military potential due to its immense strength and flexibility. Both Manchester and Strathclyde Universities insist that they work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure they fully comply with all policies and export agreements.
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has established a “collaborative partnership” with China’s Northwestern Polytechnic University (NPU), praising the university’s self-proclaimed “commitment to improving and serving the defense science and technology industry The university, which describes itself as “dedicated to improving and serving the national defense science and technology industry,” has “special strengths” in aerospace and marine engineering.
NWI has at least 13 defense laboratories in the areas of jet propulsion, space technology and torpedo guidance. “We are proud of our multinational educational and research collaboration with NWI,” a spokesman for Queen Mary University of London said, adding that it follows “strict procedures” regarding safety and ethics.
According to the Civitas report, the University of Southampton, which has ties to Harbin Engineering University, is credited with helping the Chinese university establish a “world class” status in naval architecture. It plays a key role in the Chinese Communist Party’s ambition to build the world’s largest and best-equipped navy.
A spokesman for the University of Southampton said their partnership had “the potential to create widespread social benefits,” adding that they had followed the British government’s advice and that the partnership with HIT was simply a replication of their undergraduate studies. HIT is also one of 15 Chinese private universities implicated in cyber attacks, illegal exports or espionage operations. The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of selling weapons to some of the world’s most authoritarian regimes, including Iran, Burma and North Korea.
Han Lianchao: Western universities are short-sighted
Han Lianchao, a former Communist Party government official and now a leading democracy activist, said Beijing has long viewed academic exchange programs as a way to modernize its military through the use of open Western research institutions. “The CCP has invented a variety of programs, from inviting Western professors to lecture within China, to hiring them for consulting work, to funding joint research projects between universities. These programs have allowed it to acquire dual-use technologies and build a powerful military. Sadly, most Western universities and research institutions are short-sighted and still fail to see the strategic intentions of the Chinese Communist Party.”
British universities increasingly see China as a source of revenue, and they have more Chinese students than any other country, who pay £1.7 billion a year in tuition fees, and more research funding as they develop networks of academic links in both countries.
However, since Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, there have been growing concerns about this connection. Xi has increased his nationalist rhetoric, invested heavily in the armed forces, cracked down on dissidents, launched a genocide in Xinjiang, and shown more aggression in his foreign policy, as evidenced by the CCP’s brutal crackdown on Hong Kong.
Many of China’s top universities have long maintained ties to the military, whether through their own research labs or through funding from the (often state-owned) conglomerates that dominate China’s weapons industry.
Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, these ties have been strengthened through a policy of “civil-military integration” aimed at maximizing military power. This includes the constitutional obligation to share all new technologies with the 2.25 million People’s Liberation Army.
The Chinese Communist Party leadership intends to match U.S. military power in six years and then use advanced technology to win the battle for global hegemony in 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The Civitas report, which calls for a register of Chinese companies and institutions with military ties, should ban them from supporting research in the U.K., audit university sponsorship policies, and create a new body to oversee academic relationships.
One British defense contractor, who has removed all Chinese-made components from his company’s products as a precautionary measure in case of conflict, said he believes some universities may be missing key points in rules designed to discourage misuse of technology.
The defense contractor said, “People fall into the trap of arguing that they are designing products for civilian use only, ignoring the fact that the regulations say they ‘can’ be used for military purposes.”
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