Overview

• A UK-China Transparency survey of 50 China studies academics finds widespread harassment and pressure to self-censor to avoid jeopardizing funding.
• Chinese students report being urged by CCP-linked officials to spy on peers and lecturers warn of ideological restrictions on sensitive topics.
• Sixty-four percent of respondents say financial reliance on Chinese tuition deters universities from challenging political interference.
• The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 has taken effect, empowering the Office for Students to enforce free-speech duties and probe Confucius Institutes.
• The Chinese embassy in London dismisses the report as “groundless and absurd,” denying any interference in UK academic affairs.