Sheffield Hallam University has been saying repeatedly that it spoke to the UK government over concerns about pressure from China to drop critical research, including having “reported relevant matters”, but apparently it had refused to raise fears of foreign interference with the government despite being urged to do so.
It was the government that first initiated contact with Sheffield Hallam over the case of Professor Laura Murphy, who saw her research scrapped.
Murphy had been repeatedly telling Sheffield Hallam to raise the issue with the government but it appeared her concerns had been dismissed. In an Aug 2024 email, it was noted that Murphy was “still insistent that we ‘contact the UK government’”.
In another message on the same day Sital Dhillon, director of the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice where Murphy works, said the academic had suggested the university “escalate our concerns” but said the university’s vice-chancellor was “fully aware and supportive of the measures that we are taking”.
It is understood the Department for Education then approached the university to offer support in October last year after learning of concerns raised by third parties, rather than Sheffield Hallam making the initial contact.
Sheffield Hallam denies this but did not respond to questions surrounding if it was contacted and when, or what advice was given.
The university suspended a project examining forced labour in Chinese supply chains after state authorities had “intimidated, harassed and interrogated” university staff working in the country. Counterterrorism police are examining claims the university broke national security laws.
A spokesman for the university said: “The university reported relevant matters to the UK government and has engaged with the relevant UK authorities for some time, including the Department for Education. At no point has the university proactively made contact with Chinese security services.”
Chinese interference has been “insidious” in academia.
Michelle Shipworth, professor of energy and resources at University College London (UCL), developed a module to train students as “data detectives”, including a case study analyzing reports of slavery in China.
“One student stood up and asked why I had presented ‘such a nasty claim’,” Shipworth said, recalling how the complaint triggered a domino effect and the module was ultimately shelved by UCL despite largely positive feedback from students.
Among the complaints was a letter from the head of the department, claiming colleagues had accused her of being “biased against Chinese students”.
Her teaching exercise was cited in the complaints, along with her role played in reporting two Chinese students for cheating, one of whom allegedly hired a body double to complete their course.
“I think universities prefer not to see cheating because of the money. Nowadays there is more concern about the student as the consumer than there is about the student as the learner.”
Andreas Fulda, a political scientist and China scholar based at Nottingham University, was the target of an external smear campaign after publishing his work on the struggle for democracy in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Dr Jo Smith Finley, a reader in Chinese studies at Newcastle University, was sanctioned by China in March 2021, in retaliation for UK sanctions on four Chinese officials over human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims. While Newcastle University publicly defended her and funded her research and conference activities, Smith Finley claimed it limited public visibility of her work, blocking a Uighur photo exhibition to avoid political controversy.
Smith Finley criticized what she described as the university’s attempts to “appease” China, claiming that senior staff had attended official Chinese events despite her political sanction.
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Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
An investigation into allegations that Sheffield Hallam University was subjected to pressure from Beijing authorities to halt research about human rights abuses in China has been referred to counter-terrorism police.
A South Yorkshire police spokesperson said the force had x.com/byron_wan/stat…
Show more Sheffield Hallam University was subjected to pressure from Beijing authorities to halt research about human rights abuses in China has been referred to counter-terrorism police.
A South Yorkshire police spokesperson said the force had x.com/byron_wan/stat…