Dissertation from New Zealand Scholar, Revealing the Access of China to Sensitive Technology, Suppressed by Institution Along with an Investigation

A New Zealand academic, who studies China issues, published a paper earlier, exposing China's infiltration and the use of New Zealand academic institutions to gain access to sensitive military technology. However, she is suppressed by the university where she teaches, prompting concern in Australia that China is threatening international academic freedom.

Anne-Marie Brady, a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, and a researcher at the Wilson Center, a think tank in Washington, first published in July this year in the academic journal Australian Foreign Affairs entitled, "What the Party Believes - Chinese Spy Tactics, and How to Resist". Then, she published another joint research report entitled "Holding a Pen in One Hand, Gripping a Gun in the Other".

Both papers mentioned, some Chinese companies and universities used their relationships with New Zealand academic institutions to steal sensitive technology that could use in the development of military technology. Both papers pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party used the merging of military and private institutions to expand the defense industry sector and enable technological advances.

Nevertheless, after the publication of the article, she was under suppression with a university internal investigation. Ian Wright, the vice-chancellor of the University of Canterbury, said the papers contained "wrong factual information and misleading inferences", and that the Wilson Centre had submitted the articles to the New Zealand parliament.

The attorney of Brady, Stephen Franks, bluntly dismissed the incident as absurd, and the university had even decided to refer Brady for disciplinary investigation because they did not like the results of her research. He added, “We are concerned that Brady may lose his teaching position.” Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute, also supported her, believing Brady "is a fearless and independent scholar on Chinese-related topics", resulting in "inevitably expose some unpalatable truths".

Source: Apple Daily #Oct19

#NewZealand #China #Australia #CanterburyUni #AnneMarieBrady #AcademicFreedom #CCP #SensativeTechnology #ChinaPoliticalInfluence

Australian Media Said a WeChat Group Organised to Complain University Staff, Suppressing on Giving a Higher Score

Australia is the first choice for many Chinese students studying abroad. The Australian discovered that a local WeChat group initiated an organised petition to complain about individual staff, intending to obtain a better academic result through suppression. The media then found out that the same group uses the same method to target lecturers and researchers who have ever criticised China.

According to The Australian, Sydney International Student Help Group, the WeChat group, claimed that they could overthrow the unsatisfied exam results or assignment grades at the advertisement in the chats and on the local Chinese websites. The media once pointed out that some lecturers at universities lowered the grade boundaries for students who have limited English proficiency, or else, they would receive complaints from hundreds of students. At the time, some affected students speculated that there might have other people helping students to organise and to write the complaint letter.

The group administrators are named “Chairperson” or “Senior” with unknown identities. After the investigation by The Australian, “Monkey King”, a migration and studying abroad agency, may take control of the group admin. The Australian therefore enquired Monkey King, but the spokesperson Katie Howe refused to comment on this issue. Nevertheless, the representative lawyer of one of the shareholders, Chenrul Dong, said that the company did use the group for service promotion, but do not have the permission to control the group. Apart from institutions, the company website also shows the corporation relationship with Chinese organisations, such as NetEase and Today Media Group.

#China #Australia #AcademicFreedom #Suppression #TheAustralian #MonkeyKing #WeChat

Source: Stand News #Nov19

https://bit.ly/3mmcroH

#Education #AcademicFreedom
University of Chicago received complaint for inviting Nathan Law to participate in school event and "hurting its Chinese students"

Exiled former Hong Kong lawmaker Nathan Law was invited to participate as a guest in an event held at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago for 4 weeks.

After the event, Law revealed on social media that the University actually received a letter of objection from the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

According to the letter, the invitation has "hurt the feelings of Chinese students of the school" and a lot of them regret their college choice. The letter also discouraged new students to choose the University of Chicago, and urged the University to face up to their demand.

Source: Stand News #May24

#UniversityofChicago #ChineseStudents

https://www.thestandnews.com/international/%E7%BE%85%E5%86%A0%E8%81%B0%E7%8D%B2%E8%8A%9D%E5%A4%A7%E9%82%80%E4%BB%BB%E5%98%89%E8%B3%93-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E5%AD%B8%E7%94%9F%E5%AD%B8%E8%80%85%E8%81%AF%E6%9C%83%E5%8F%8D%E5%B0%8D-%E5%BE%8C%E6%82%94%E5%85%A5%E8%AE%80-%E5%BB%BA%E8%AD%B0%E6%96%B0%E7%94%9F%E5%8B%BF%E5%A0%B1%E8%AE%80/

According to The Times:

The principle said that Confucius Institutes (CI), international language and culture hubs funded by the *Chinese Communist Party*, were too *insignificant* to be used for peddling influence.

#UniversityofEdinburgh #UoE #Huawei #CCP #ConfuciusInstitutes #CI #unitedfront #academicfreedom #higherEducation #UK #academia #meme #ohboi #diyms

#WhiteTerror
China-owned Media Accuses Taiwanese Scholar of Violating Hong Kong's #NationalSecurityLaw

In an article published on January 6, 2022, Ta Kung Pao, a China-owned newspaper printed in Hong Kong, accused Wu Rwei-ren, a political science scholar affiliated with Academic Sinica in Taiwan of violating Hong Kong's national security law.

The pro-Beijing newspaper made its claim based on an essay Wu wrote in February 2020, before the National Security Law was passed on June 30, 2020. The essay received the Human Rights News Award of the Hong Kong Journalists Association in 2021.

Wu responded that following the crackdown on independent news outlets like Stand News and Citizen News in Hong Kong, Beijing is trying to threaten international scholars who support Hong Kong.

Wu believes that Beijing will not be able to achieve the goal, as its acts have demonstrated the difference between the laws set up by the regime under the Chinese Communist Party and those practiced in democractic countries.

Source: Liberty Times #Jan8
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3794583

#AcademicSinica #WuRweiRen #Academia #AcademicFreedom #PressFreedom #CCPThreats