Thread by @AMFChina

This is essential viewing for all academics who research or teach on mainland China @bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI

https://twitter.com/commonsforeign/status/1168765568008126470

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI Public hearing has started

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI Professor Chris Hughes (LSE):

- Shift from ivory tower university to enterprise university has meant that protocols haven't kept up with changing conditions.

- Money translates into incentives and motivations.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI Professor Chris Hughes (LSE):

- There is information in the public domain that Chinese authorities direct hate crimes abroad, e.g. against pro-democracy Hong Kongers

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI Professor Hughes makes an important point, which I also made in my recent article "Beijing Is Weaponizing Nationalism Against Hong Kongers" for Foreign Policy.

This should concern us all in British HE, as our new Autumn/Winter term will start soon.

foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/29/bei…

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI Professor Hughes is on fire🔥

- Makes the case that Gaddafi donations to LSE where highly problematic.

- Existing protocols are not sufficient to deal with political dimension of such donations.

- Argues that funding from authoritarian countries lead to self-censorship.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI What I find depressing about the statements of the other witnesses is that they seem to belong to the #SeeNoEvidence crowd.

They talk very much in the abstract and pretend as if there was no problem with undue influence from funders from authoritarian countries.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat body language shows that he is not particularly impressed by the other witnesses either.

His question about the danger of self-censorship among overseas students in the UK or US shows that he is not buying their platitudes.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI They don't seem to appreciate that @TomTugendhat is a counter-intelligence expert.

I also wonder if the other witnesses are actually informed about what is happening in the UK?

Have they read the RUSI report about CCP interference in the UK?

rusi.org/publication/oc…

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat The problem with the #SeeNoEvidence crowd is that they deny the problem rather than addressing it.

It is very problematic to deny that self-censorship exists in academia & to pretend that it can not be addressed.

@hrw made specific suggestions

hrw.org/news/2019/03/2…

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat I fully agree with Professor Chris Hughes that CCP-funded Confucius Institutes have no place at British HE institutions.

He has actually written about it and clearly knows what he is talking about.

eprints.lse.ac.uk/60790/1/__lse.…

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat This hearing is not going well for the cheerleaders of a fully marketised academic higher education sector.

Security agencies in the UK are aware of existing problems with foreign government influence & interference in academia.

Values & interests do not seem aligned.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat This hearing is going in circles.

The logical fallacy of #SeeNoEvidence proponents is that they say that we need iron-clad proof & evidence *before* taking any precautionary measures.

Common sense: Since we know that our house *could* be burgled we *do* lock our front doors.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat Professor Chris Hughes is absolutely right: How much evidence do you need?

He is quoting a Chinese student who complained to him "Why do you have Confucius Institutes in the UK?"

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat Whoever is inclined to agree with the #SeeNoEvidence crowd please read @METhorley excellent article about 'latent networks'.

theasiadialogue.com/2019/07/05/hua…

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat @METhorley The hearing has ended.

This exchange has shown that there is a gigantic gulf separating well-informed politicians with national security expertise & representatives of a marketed higher education sector.

In my final tweet let me explain why this is worrisome.

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat @METhorley We need to avoid is a situation where everyone is literally sleepwalking into a major crisis.

The abysmal way the University of Queensland in Australia has handled conflicts surrounding HK-related student protests & their Lennon Walls should be a warning to us all. /End

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat @METhorley If we compare today's hearing with the debate in Australia it is fair to say that we are behind the curveball.

Yet an Ostrich policy will not solve existing tensions.

We need to have this conversation—however difficult it may be—without denying the problem /Over & Out

@bacs_china @UoNARI_China @SOAS_CI @TomTugendhat @METhorley Unroll @threadreaderapp

@Anne_MarieBrady @CliveCHamilton FYI