- Nov 17, 2013
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Though no evidence of espionage exists, Western European universities are following the advice of their intelligence agencies.
The University of Erlangen-Nuremberg will become the first university in Germany to deny admission to certain students from China, reports Süddeutsche Zeitung. The ban will apply to Ph.D. students who have received scholarships from the China Scholarship Council (CSC), citing fears that information from any joint research conducted involving Chinese students could eventually end up in the hands of the Chinese government.
The China Scholarship Council is the primary vehicle through which the Chinese government awards scholarships. An investigation conducted jointly by Deutsche Welle and the German platform CORRECTIV claims that Chinese students in Germany are placed under repressive rules by the Chinese state and that this is particularly true of young scientists and academics who come on scholarships from the CSC. Copies of several CSC contracts obtained by the investigative team state that the students “shall not engage in activities that harm the interests and security of the motherland.” They also have to report to the Chinese embassy or the nearest Chinese consulate within ten days of their arrival in Germany and maintain “frequent contact.” The students are required to provide reports, which can include obtaining information on third parties.
Although this in itself cannot be considered espionage, the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg has chosen to be cautious and has cited an audit by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) for taking these drastic steps. BAFA is responsible for making the final decision on whether German goods are permitted for export, especially products that can be used for military purposes. The agency warned the university that it has to comply with its rules, which is why the university created its own export control office. “All researchers and research institutions must be aware of their individual responsibility of compliance with export controls,” states the university’s website, referring to the export of laboratory and test equipment, the transfer of emails, data carriers, cloud storage, or even the transfer of knowledge and expertise.
The university emphasised that the ban would only apply to future applicants, not to its current Chinese students, and to students who are solely financed by the China Scholarship Council. Other German universities are also pondering a possible ban, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung. At least 30 German universities have welcomed CSC scholars from China.
Universities in other European countries have also expressed concerns about the CSC. The Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands is refusing to take candidates linked with the Seven Sons of National Defence, an association of seven universities with connections to the Chinese army. “Experts warn of espionage, undesirable knowledge transfer and the new close links that Chinese universities have with the defence industry,” the university’s campus newspaper said.
Other Dutch universities are also reluctant to accept Chinese scholarship Ph.D. students, and the Ministry of Education vowed to investigate the risks of the CSC scholarship. In April, the Dutch intelligence agency, AIVD, warned that Dutch universities are an “attractive target” for spying and that China is the largest threat. This analysis coincides with the annual report of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which believes that “in the field of education and research, China’s activities and forms of cooperation threaten to undermine academic freedom.”
Universities in Sweden and Denmark have also lodged inquiries and imposed bans on Chinese students. In 2020, then-U.S. President Donald Trump barred the entry of Chinese graduate students believed to have ties to the Chinese military. However, China is still the top country of origin for international students in the U.S.: last year, there were about 290,000 Chinese citizens studying in the United States. Relations between Western countries and China have been strained in the past few years, with the U.S. perceiving the Chinese Communist Party as the “most consequential threat” to its national security.