Read on Twitter
It’s bizarre to me that nobody has asked some hard questions of UCD about this. Prior to the launch of these two campuses in China there was an attempt to refine academic freedoms.
https://www.ucd.ie/newsandopinion/news/2020/april/31/ucdannouncestwonewinternationalcollegesinchina/
https://www.ucd.ie/newsandopinion/news/2020/april/31/ucdannouncestwonewinternationalcollegesinchina/
Was there a deal done to do this? To import Chinese government definitions of academic freedoms? Or was it an attempt to silence dissenters already questioning the direction of UCDs international policy?
Because we can see what happens even in American colleges when the influence of CCP money grows - https://twitter.com/PMCroninHudson/status/1296046277407506433
Here’s a link to the UCD story by @jackpowerIT - https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/concern-over-proposed-changes-to-ucd-s-academic-freedom-1.4225393?mode=amp
The UCD Confucius Institute model institute in 2019. Sounds like a model institute to be fair. Every CCP export of soft power tends to run over budget.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-02/27/c_137854649.htm
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-02/27/c_137854649.htm
Now a throw back to 2015 when the CCP’s Propaganda wing was given a 50 year “exclusive free use” of the vastly over budget and partially tax payer funded PRC outpost in the heart of the university. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/ucd-agrees-50-year-free-lease-for-confucius-institute-1.2178901?mode=amp
The PRC is all about the long game. If it takes 50 years to normalise and rationalise communism to several generations in Ireland so be it. And it has a HQ to monitor and gather information on non-UCD Chinese students, those of Chinese heritage born here (and their families).
The exceptionally talented @AlexDukalskis and his colleagues have flagged their concerns about this and other Confucius Centres for a while now. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ucd-professor-raises-concerns-about-chinese-influence-on-campus-nd30tcqvl
Their work has a positive impact in exposing these institutes for what they really are: https://twitter.com/ncscgov/status/1293943868145184772?s=21 https://twitter.com/ncscgov/status/1293943868145184772
We’ve given the Chinese government a 50 year lease on a major Irish campus that is home to our cyber security. No other country demands to be embedded into campuses. Even the French have their cultural centres off campuses.
Our universities continue to develop links with questionable Chinese military universities. And we’ve no politicians willing to really focus on this threat to our moral standing in the world. https://amp.independent.ie/irish-news/education/irish-links-to-chinese-university-at-centre-of-protests-38801362.html
Criticisms have occasionally been raised in the media like this one in 2016. But little traction with politicians. And our HE sector and R&D leaders seem to only care about rankings. https://amp.independent.ie/irish-news/education/irish-links-to-chinese-university-at-centre-of-protests-38801362.html
The teams of @thetimesIE have been exceptional of late in highlighting the influence of Chinese universities and companies in Ireland. @JohnMooneyST & @_BrianMahon_ especially. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chinese-university-with-irish-links-put-on-us-security-risk-list-fn63qhpt3
Now that parts of our unis are to be designated critical infrastructure under the Irish #cybersecurity strategy we may see a culture of national security develop in our HEIs. But this will be resisted. The only defence culture accepted in our higher education sector is a CCP one
The far reaching implications of the #HongKong #NationalSecurityLaw has already seen colleges begun to self censor to protect their Chinese students from arrest. @simoncoveney @SimonHarrisTD need to start taking this law seriously and our endorsement with our extradition treaty
Here, for example is what some US colleges are resorting to: self censorship plain and simple. Every CCP security law is extra-territorial in nature, the Chinese courts with jurisdiction globally - https://twitter.com/dctwining/status/1296152020085350404?s=21 https://twitter.com/dctwining/status/1296152020085350404
