Is exposure to totalitarian influence via the #coproratisation of academia inevitable? A still somewhat on-going story that kept Czech media busy earlier this month (yet seemingly underreported in English) suggests that's not necessarily the case. An independence-day thread. 0/ 
\1 Home Credit, a subsidiary of the Czech-owned (but NL-registered) conglomerate PPF with major activities in China, had driven the Czech turn towards the PRC (jamestown.org/program/united… q.v.). On 30 Sep, it signed an agreement to become the ‘main partner’ of Charles Uni in Prague.
\2 Earlier in Sep, HC had called coverage by the uni-linked @sinopsiscz project of Chinese criticism of the company sinopsis.cz/cesky-kral-lic… ‘fake news’. The uni partnership stipulated both sides would avoid damaging each other's ‘good name’. a2larm.cz/2019/10/home-c…
\3 A massive backlash followed: 4 faculties distanced themselves from the deal, 4 petitions totaling 1000+ signatures emerged against it, faculty and others publicly criticised it, with concerns over academic freedom, HC's biz model and its China links. irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/h…
\4 It would be prolix to recapitulate media coverage of the saga, which involved essentially all of the country's mainstream media. Comments by some petition signatories、tweeps reflected concerns the #coprorate ‘partnership’/donations could threaten uni support for @sinopsiscz.
\5 @sinopsiscz wouldn't, of course, be silenced even if The Lord Xi Baozi himself bought the uni. But concerns that munny from China-focused #coprorations can influence a uni's behaviour are justified by the experience abroad, and not only — cf., e.g.,
\6 Three days after it was reported by the media a2larm.cz/2019/10/home-c…, the deal was scrapped novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/… due to the backlash (‘irrational discussion’, in the donor's words).
\7 That didn't quite stop the backlash: calls for the rector to resign continued, with a new petition by students、alumni、faculty asking the uni senate to remove him reaching 1000 signatures uketicka.cz. (Pic: His Magnificence the rector .)
\8 The rector is still there, but the exposure reached the uni's own pro-CCP shop, led by Miloš Balabán — the kind of person who e.g. gets his 十九大 congrats published in the PeepsDeli. For other propaganda appearances and links to other coöptees, cf. twitter.com/search?q=from%…
\9 Balabán's ‘centre’ (and company), earlier mainly known to China peeps as just another joke propshop, was covered on TV — investigative coverage
seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/cinske-… irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/t… zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/konfere… eventually exposed covert PRC emb financing. Balabán resigned
seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/cinske-… irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/t… zpravy.aktualne.cz/domaci/konfere… eventually exposed covert PRC emb financing. Balabán resigned
\10 Only public interest, genuine research and media exposure can prevent totalitarian leverage over #coprorate interest from vitiating global academia into just another #exoprop tool.
\11 Known cases of totalitarian repurposing of global academia and #thinktankery (seen at Notts in the UK, UQ in Oz, in the various BRI / ‘17+1’ / etc-themed ‘think-tank networks’, the major cacademic publishers) are perhaps not immune to public scrutiny either.
