cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5469095
Labour has been accused of ignoring Chinese influence at British universities.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, wrote to Bridget Phillipson on Monday claiming that failure to tackle Beijing’s influence at universities was “part of a worrying wider pattern with this Government: when China calls, the Government heeds”.
She accused the Education Secretary of turning a blind eye to the issue after an academic was ordered to cease research about human rights abuses.
In her letter to the Education Secretary, Ms Trott said: “Chinese interference is undeniably taking place. Professors are being leant on, and vital research is being silenced. What will you do, beyond implementing the Conservatives’ Free Speech Act in full, to ensure that academic freedom is protected on our campuses?” Sheffield Hallam University was forced to apologise to one of its professors on Monday after it ordered her to halt her work on allegations of forced labour in the Xinjiang region of China.
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Of course they fail. What would they do? Oppose their main sales channel for boycotting them?
The UK has a trade deficit with China of ~300 billion USD*.
Addition: * in 2024