Charles Moore Charles Moore

Are Hong Kong students safe in British universities?

Getty Images 
issue 11 July 2020

There are far more Chinese students in British universities than there are from the entire Commonwealth. Many universities have been accused of indulging the Chinese regime in return for the students and the money. Now that Beijing has imposed its draconian security law upon Hong Kong, will Hong Kong students in British universities be safe to return in October? Beijing now seeks to control them. What assurances can British universities give Hong Kong students that it will protect them from intimidation from fellow students acting on the orders of the Chinese embassy in London? The new law claims the right to punish Hong Kong people for offences committed anywhere in the world. Will our universities protect such students? Will they restrain bodies like the China Centre at Jesus College, Cambridge, when it repeats lines from the Chinese Communist party which runs all Chinese universities? Cambridge (and others) fell for Chinese ‘soft power’.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in