Report: Top U.K. universities now kowtowing to commie China
July 14, 2020
(Natural News) Several British universities are now under fire for complying with Chinese internet censors in order to offer distance-learning courses to international students.
According to a report by national British daily broadsheet The Telegraph, the courses are offered through software developed by JISC, a digital learning non-profit organization, in partnership with Chinese e-commerce and tech giant Alibaba. The software would allow Chinese students who would normally have to study in the U.K to continue their studies remotely.
The software sets up a connection between the institution and the student via the Chinese internet company Alibaba Cloud. The software, however, has to comply with notoriously strict Chinese internet firewalls, which means that students will only have access to course materials that have been previously approved by Beijing.
The pilot program involves King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, University of York and Southampton University – all of which are members of the prestigious Russell Group of research institutions.
According to reports, the program – once it is deemed successful – could be rolled out to universities across the country.
Brushing off any concerns regarding censorship, a Universities U.K. spokesperson maintains that academic freedom remains of “utmost importance” and that the organization was not aware of any alteration to course content to comply with local laws. (Related: Academic hypocrisy: Stanford, liberal universities accepted funds from commie Beijing.)
“This scheme is intended to ensure that Chinese students, learning remotely during the pandemic, can access course materials and are able to continue their studies,” the spokesperson said.
Matthew Henderson, a former diplomat and the Asia director at the Henry Jackson Society, remained unconvinced, however, noting that what the universities did is tantamount to censorship, as it limits the texts that students get to read.
According to Anthony Glees, a professor at the University of Buckingham, the decision to limit the kind of materials that the students could access undermined what could be the main reason that draws overseas students – such as those from China – to the U.K., which is academic freedom.
“If you simply make UK universities an extension of what students might learn in the People’s Republic of China, what would be the academic and intellectual point in coming to study in the U.K.?” Glees said.
A similar system has already been deployed by several Australian universities.
Chinese students now almost a quarter of the U.K.’s international student population
The controversy surrounding the universities’ distance-learning program came after the release of a report showing that the U.K. has overtaken the U.S. as the preferred overseas study destination for Chinese students.
The survey, published by New Oriental Education & Technology Group and conducted by market research firm Kantar Millward Brown, showed that the U.K. was preferred by 42 percent of the survey’s 6,673 respondents, compared to the U.S. which was preferred by 37 percent of the respondents.
According to the survey, the shift in students’ preference can be attributed to several factors, such as the current tense status of Sino-U.S. relations, the U.K.’s reopening of its Post Study Work Visa, and quicker graduation requirements.
As per official data, Chinese students now account for almost a quarter of the U.K.’s total number of international students – about 120,385.
Several personalities have expressed concern over this, noting the effects of growing Chinese influence on British university campuses.
In a column published on the website Conservative Home, Conservative lawmaker, Tom Tugendhat, noted that British society – a society he describes as being built upon “an open system of education that encourages freedom of thought” – is currently under threat from China.
In the article, Tugendhat – the leader of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee – warned that the U.K. needs “a global China strategy” if it is to confront Beijing, which he describes as “the biggest challenge to the liberal world since the end of the Cold War.”
Tugendhat’s statements came after several Chinese international students at the University of Warwick blocked a student union motion to express support for Hong Kong protesters.
Following reports about the U.K.’s lead over the U.S. as the preferred foreign destination for Chinese students, China’s ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming told students to leverage their strength, practice patriotism and “serve your motherland” – further exacerbating concerns over Chinese presence in the U.K.
Sources include:
https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-07-14-uk-universities-kowtowing-to-commie-china.html
英國大學為中國學生設立不含「敏感內容」的遠程教學系統
2020年 7月 09日
這使得身在中國的學生能夠繼續在線上完成英國大學的學位，而中國對互聯網上的信息獲取設有限制。
這意味著學生只能接觸到「獲准」清單上的材料。
英國大學組織Universities UK表示「未發現有任何課程內容被改動的情況」。
該組織否認這是在接受「審查」。
一名發言人表示，該項目將允許身在中國的學生更好地接觸到英國的課程，「同時遵守當地法規」。
這次初步測試有四所羅素大學集團（Russell Group）的成員學府參與——倫敦國王學院（King's College London）、倫敦瑪麗王后大學（Queen Mary University of London）、約克大學（University of York）和南安普敦大學（University of Southampton）；測試由向英國大學提供數字服務的聯合信息系統委員會（JISC）負責。
中國的互聯網審查令一些網站被過濾或者屏蔽，於是有人擔憂，身在中國的學生在線上學習時可能遭遇障礙，比如無法打開一份學術文章當中的附帶鏈接。
中國互聯網公司阿里雲（Alibaba Cloud）免費提供了技術解決方案，建造一個虛擬的鏈接，讓身在中國的學生能夠進入英國大學的網絡系統。
不過，聯合信息系統委員會的發言人表示，中國學生不會完全自由地上網，他們只能接觸到由英國大學「控制和指定的資源」。
這些英國大學課程當中使用的線上信息必須要被列入一份獲准安全的清單，當中會列出所有英國機構課程當中使用的教學材料鏈接。
這引發了有關學術自由和言論自由的質疑。不過，在被問及這些原則是否會面臨風險時，各大學目前均指相關問題由聯合信息系統委員會解答。
作為線上服務提供者的該委員會則表示，這類事務是由大學負責，並表示「所有課程材料均已符合法規，沒有被改動或者屏蔽」。
作為這個項目支持者之一的英國大學組織Universities UK表示：「我們不會為審查背書。這一計劃是意在保證全球疫情期間遠程學習的中國學生能夠接觸課程材料，並且繼續學習。」
該組織表示，澳大利亞各大學已經在採取一個類似計劃。
除了遵守中國的法規之外，這一網站還意在建立一個更穩定的網絡訊號，讓學生能夠更容易收看講堂及跟進課程。
聯合信息系統委員會表示，中國的網上課程學生面臨著特別的限制，「中國與世界之間的流通被檢視，對來自海外用於提供教學的內容進行過濾，並且屏蔽一些平台和應用程式。」
測試將在本月完成，並可能於9月被廣泛使用。
中國學生已經成為英國大學的一個重要收入來源，佔海外留學生的四分之一。
曾有人擔憂，如果新型冠狀病毒全球大流行令中國學生不能入境，又或者因為香港問題導致的政治緊張使留學受阻，會給這些大學帶來財政損失。
「冒犯中國從來都不難做到，」倫敦國王學院的凱利·布朗教授（Kerry Brown）在周四通過英國高等教育政策研究所（Higher Education Policy Institute）發表的一篇文章中這樣寫道。
這名中國研究教授表示，現在這已經變得「極度容易」。
但是他警告，在與中國進行互動時，大學不應該自行進行「自我審查」。
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/uk-53344833
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