Australian university discovers Chinese censorship and surveillance

Written by Kirsty Needham

Sydney (Reuters)-Human Rights Watch said that a large number of Chinese students in Australian universities have created an environment of self-censorship, lecturers avoid criticizing Beijing, and Chinese students remain silent for fear of harassment.

The organization said in a report released on Wednesday that the Chinese police interrogated some parents in mainland China about the activities of Australian students, and the Hong Kong police interrogated a returning student about democratic activities.

The organization said that as universities adopted online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese students joined classes from behind China’s Internet censorship “firewall” system, and self-censorship became worse.

The author of the report, Sophie McNeill, told Reuters that this trend has compromised the academic freedom of all students in the class.

“It erodes academic freedom in Australia,” she said.

She said that in one example, an online course deleted the reference to the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

In response to the report, the Australian University, the department’s highest institution, stated that the university is committed to academic freedom.

CEO Catriona Jackson said in a statement: “I would urge any student or faculty member to go directly to their university if they are under intimidation or intimidation.”

The Chinese Embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of international students in Australia were from China, which accounted for 10% of all university students. Nearly one-third of the university department’s income comes from international student fees.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 24 “democracy” students studying in Australian universities, 11 of whom were from mainland China and 13 were from Hong Kong. It also interviewed 22 academics.

Human rights organizations verified three cases where Chinese families were warned by the police for student activities in Australia.

“If you protest against the CCP abroad, they will find someone you love to make you pay. Even if you are in Australia,” a student who was not named in the report told Human Rights Watch, referring to the CCP.

The student who claimed to have posted “anti-government” materials on Twitter said that the Chinese police issued a formal warning to his parents last year.

A Hong Kong student reported to the Australian police. After he spoke at a democracy rally, four masked and Mandarin-speaking men appeared outside his home and chased him with sticks. After the incident, the student slept in the car and then moved. He is seeking asylum in Australia.

The report found that threats from patriotic Chinese classmates are more common, including the disclosure of address details on the Internet (called human flesh searches) and threats to report students’ anti-Chinese views to the embassy.

Human Rights Watch stated that more than half of the students who were intimidated did not report to the university.

“They believe that their universities are more concerned with maintaining relations with the Chinese government, rather than alienating students who support the Chinese Communist Party,” McNeill said.

According to the report, half of the scholars interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they conducted self-censorship in class.

“One scholar after another avoids discussing China in class,” McNeill said.

Human Rights Watch stated that it expects the Australian government to report harassment and censorship every year, and hopes that universities will classify students who “report” classmates or faculty as grounds for harassment and disciplinary action.