The foreign affairs select committee is preparing to probe alleged Chinese interference in UK academia as part of its wider strategy inquiry on Beijing.
MPs are expanding their inquiry into Chinese state influence at British institutions as part of the China audit, an internal government evaluation of UK-China relations that was completed in June.
Following the Guardian's revelation that Sheffield Hallam University had prohibited a professor's work that was critical of China's human rights record, ministers are under pressure to adopt a more forceful stance.
After years of pressure from the Chinese government, Sheffield Hallam prohibited Laura Murphy, one of its most well-known professors, from carrying out her research on supply chains connected to China.
Murphy's research focuses on the co-optation of Uyghurs, a persecuted Muslim minority in China, into forced labor programs. The Chinese government disputes claims of forced labor, arguing that Uyghur labor programs are intended to reduce poverty.
In October, Sheffield Hallam lifted the ban, and apologised to Murphy. But the case has caused widespread alarm about the influence of the Chinese government on UK universities, both in the form of specific threats and fears of losing access to the lucrative market of Chinese international students.
Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said:
“From what we have heard so far, Chinese government interference in our universities is a threat. We need to examine the extent of it and universities should have a co-ordinated response to it”.
The University and College Union (UCU) Sheffield Hallam chapter and the UCU national executive committee approved motions last week requesting a "full public inquiry" into the Sheffield Hallam incidents. A government-led investigation into the ways that business interests are undermining academic free expression was also demanded in the motions.
In the upcoming weeks, similar motions are anticipated to be presented at regional UCU branches.
Bob Jeffrey, a branch officer for the Sheffield Hallam UCU, said:
“Laura’s case really resonates with UCU members”.
Academics in the UK have spoken
out about “extremely heaving” pressure from Beijing in the wake of the
revelations about Sheffield Hallam.
Murphy's work and Sheffield Hallam's commercial interests in China were viewed as "untenable bedfellows," according to internal communications. The university said that the decision to prohibit Murphy's research was not motivated by business interests and that the emails did not reflect institutional policy.
Concerns that Sheffield Hallam aided a foreign intelligence agency in this case, China by obstructing Murphy's research have led to its referral to counterterrorism police.
Sheffield Hallam employees are going on strike on Tuesday in protest of job losses and the way the institution handled Murphy's situation.
"It is extremely worrying that Sheffield Hallam appears to have attempted to silence its own professor on behalf of a foreign government,"
stated UCU general secretary Jo Grady.
For many years, there has been rising fear that universities are vulnerable due to the higher education sector's reliance on Chinese international student fees.
How might proposed measures affect research collaborations with China?
Lead to a reduction or further picky engagement in cooperative exploration systems, especially involving sensitive technologies or binary- use fields, as universities apply tighter controls and vetting processes. Increase scrutiny of Chinese- funded exploration hookups and limit participation by realities linked to the Chinese government orpro-Beijing groups.
Introduce formal review mechanisms and compliance conditions around data sharing, intellectual property, and access to exploration installations, potentially decelerating down cooperative systems. Encourage fabrics analogous to the US" smart openness" approach, balancing academic freedom with security safeguards to allow certain collaborations while mollifying pitfalls.
Conceivably reduce overall volume and compass of exploration collaboration with Chinese institutions, particularly in strategic or sensitive scientific areas. produce challenges for UK universities seeking to maintain Chinese relationship while guarding academic integrity and public security.