London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Academics warn of ‘chilling effect’ of Hong Kong security law

Academics warn of ‘chilling effect’ of Hong Kong security law

Exclusive: global scholars on China call for agreement to resist interference in research
Some of the world’s leading scholars on China have called for a united international front in defence of university freedoms, amid claims of an increased Chinese threat to academic inquiry since the passing of Hong Kong’s national security law.

Individual universities will be picked off unless there is a common agreement to resist Chinese state interference in academic research and teaching on China, a group of 100 academics including scholars in the US, UK, Australia and Germany say.

They highlight the threat posed by article 38 of the sweeping national security law, which states that the law is applicable to individuals who live outside the territory and individuals who do not come from there.

The law was imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in June after more than a year of pro-democracy protests.

The academics say article 38 raises the unsettling prospect that students travelling through Hong Kong and China face being handed lengthy prison sentences on the basis of academic work deemed to be subversive by Chinese authorities.

The signatories, representing 71 academic institutions across 16 countries, cite claims that China-related modules are being dropped and writings self-censored by students for fear of reprisals.

“Universities are supposed to be a place for vigorous debate, and to offer a safe space for staff and students to discuss contentious issues without fear or favour,” says a letter signed by the academics. “The national security law, which under article 38 is global in its scope and application, will compromise freedom of speech and academic autonomy, creating a chilling effect and encouraging critics of the Chinese party-state to self-censor.”

Dr Andreas Fulda, a senior fellow at the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute and one of the initiators of the letter, said: “Several students – both from the United Kingdom and from mainland China – have told me in private that they are concerned that comments made in class or essays will be used as evidence against them.

“Universities cannot meet this challenge alone. A united front of academic leaders, politicians and senior government officials is needed to mount a common defence of our academic freedoms. We must call out the national security law for what it is: a heavy-handed attempt to shut down critical discussion of China, antithetical to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.

He added: “It is widely known that the Chinese party-state is weaponising students to monitor their university instructors in mainland China and Hong Kong. Such attempts to instrumentalise students do not stop at China’s border. Prof Vanessa Frangville has revealed that the Chinese embassy in Brussels tried to hire Brussels campus students to express their disapproval of a Uighur demonstration in 2018.”

A lecturer in Sinology at the University of Leipzig recently told the Hong Kong activist Glacier Kwong that “his students from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China asked if they could drop his class, because they worried about being associated with the criticism others made of the Chinese Communist party in class”.

A separate group of British academics have this week called for a code of conduct so that higher education teachers are consulted at all stages over how collaborations between universities and foreign governments are administered.

The code calls for US-style transparency on the overseas funding of universities, and a national ombudsman to whom breaches of the code can be referred. They also want greater protection for foreign students on campus and for UK researchers working in authoritarian states.

The code is expected to be supported in principle by a Universities UK paper due to be published this week that will also cover issues such as the protection of intellectual property on campus.

Individual Chinese professors at Oxford University have said they intend to anonymise some student papers given in group settings in an effort to reduce the perceived fear of reprisals for discussing flaws in the Chinese model.

John Heathershaw, a professor of international relations at Exeter University, said: “The open market model of university funding risks leaving individual universities vulnerable to approaches by authoritarian donors, and there needs to be much greater transparency and involvement of the faculty at an early stage about the terms on which grants are given.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
×