Scots students told not to record lectures after being warned of prosecution in China

Scots students have been told not to record online tutorials after being warned that criticising China in lectures puts them at risk of detention in the communist country.

The briefing issued to University of St Andrews undergraduates comes amid increasing concern that new laws in China demand self-censorship and threaten academic freedom.

It comes as universities were issued with new guidance aimed at tackling foreign interference.

The plan drawn up by vice chancellors and issued by Universities UK said students could be asked to submit coursework anonymously or attend seminars without being identified so that they can speak freely. The enactment of China’s security law – which makes it an offence to criticise the Communist Party – prompted the warning to some students at St Andrews University.

A source at the institution, who asked not to be named, said: “We had to make students aware that it is possible the law could have implications for them in the future.

“The national security law says anybody, anywhere, who is critical of the Communist Party’s policies can be prosecuted in China. If you were to travel in China you might be held and what you said in a tutorial might be brought up.

“That’s the rationale for asking students not to record tutorials.”

Scotland’s higher education sector, like that in many Western countries, is increasingly reliant on millions of pounds from China. Last year Scotland’s 19 universities were paid £195m in fees from 11,400 Chinese students, and five universities – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Aberdeen and Strathclyde – host Confucius institutes, language-learning centres funded by the Communist regime.

However, the head of Britain’s domestic spy agency MI5, Glasgow-born Ken McCallum, said last week China was the biggest long term security threat to Britain.

The 45-year-old former undercover agent is planning to expand his agency’s operations to counter Chinese activities such as intellectual property theft from universities.

The new guidance issued by Universities UK does not name any specific countries but it said: “The risks to universities are not limited to the theft of intellectual property and data, or the security of university campuses.

“There are also threats to the values that have underpinned the success of the higher education sector: academic freedom, freedom of speech and institutional autonomy. These values are rooted in the UK’s commitment to democracy.”

Mary Senior, Scotland official of the University and College Union the trade union representing academics and support staff, said members were concerned.

She said: “Tutorials should be a safe space to explore controversial ideas and that could be limited, which is really problematic. There is a sense that students may have to modify their behaviour, particularly students enrolled at Scottish universities who are participating online and who remain in the jurisdiction of countries where human rights issues are a concern.”

The British Association for Chinese Studies issued a stark warning to universities after China’s new security law came into force on July 1.

In a statement, BACS said lecturers and students on China-related modules could be “deemed criminals” if they spoke out about Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Communist Party’s handling of coronavirus, ethnic unrest, ethnic identities, language policy, state surveillance or the implications of President Xi extending his term indefinitely.

The statement added: “When passing through Hong Kong or China, teachers and students of any countries’ citizenship could find themselves arrested based on evidence from lecture notes, recorded lectures, or recorded class discussions because these include content that the party-state deems subversive. The risks are especially high for individuals from mainland China and Hong Kong who study at or who previously studied at British universities.”

The University of St Andrews did not comment but Universities Scotland, the representative body for Scotland’s 19 universities, said: “Universities engage internationally with open eyes, robustly protecting academic freedom, institutional autonomy and our own values.”

The Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for comment.