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Let's talk about this @thetimes report today, which says "almost 200 British academics are being investigated" for "helping the Chinese government build weapons of mass destruction."
It's HUGE news, but please, don't be misled by the headline (
1/9): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hundreds-of-uk-academics-investigated-over-weapons-links-to-china-bpcks76bv
It's HUGE news, but please, don't be misled by the headline (
1/9): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hundreds-of-uk-academics-investigated-over-weapons-links-to-china-bpcks76bv
Let's be clear: It's great the UK is starting to take 
talent recruitment efforts seriously. Policymakers have long ignored China's efforts to poach foreign science & tech professionals. Those efforts carry real national security risks. Read more here: https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Quest-Foreign-Technology-Espionage/dp/0367473593
talent recruitment efforts seriously. Policymakers have long ignored China's efforts to poach foreign science & tech professionals. Those efforts carry real national security risks. Read more here: https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Quest-Foreign-Technology-Espionage/dp/0367473593
But looking at the numbers, we should be very skeptical of the @thetimes reporting (200 academics working on military research).
It seems *highly unlikely* that every one of these academics was involved in WMD-related projects.
It seems *highly unlikely* that every one of these academics was involved in WMD-related projects.
In our August report for @CSETGeorgetown, @jacob_feldgoise and I identified at least 118 UK-based academics who had been offered jobs under the "Youth" Thousand Talents Plan. It's unclear how many may have disclosed outside funding from the government. https://cset.georgetown.edu/research/the-youth-thousand-talents-plan-and-chinas-military/
government. https://cset.georgetown.edu/research/the-youth-thousand-talents-plan-and-chinas-military/
Thousand Talents is by far the largest formal Chinese talent recruitment plan, and the Youth branch (<40 y/o) is its largest segment, comprising 1/3 of awardees.
Our data offers a pretty good baseline for assessing talent recruitment, but I concede it is not exhaustive.
Our data offers a pretty good baseline for assessing
talent recruitment, but I concede it is not exhaustive.
In our report, @jacob_feldgoise & I found ~8% of youth Thousand Talents awardees were offered jobs at military-relevant institutions in China, and just 36 at the China Academy of Engineering Physics, China's nuclear weapons lab. Few (5%) were from the UK. So 200 seems very high.
But the national security risks from China's talent recruitment efforts do not necessarily emanate from military research. Economically *valuable* info—and the market share it confers—is central to national security. Govs should aim to protect it, even w/o military apps.
We need to accept that garden-variety Chinese talent recruitment is not "sexy" & isn't about military secrets, or even IP theft/fraud. It's more often related to e.g. vacuum cleaners, not missile seekers. That still carries appreciable risks. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/17/china-thousand-talents-plan-invest-us-xenophobia/
And most important, the *methods* by which recruitment occurs often violate global norms and standards around R&D. That's what govs should really be trying to address—even if, as is likely, The Times' reported number of WMD researchers ends up being far off base.
