London must look within, not towards Beijing, to fix academic woes
Rather than addressing the underlying structural issues facing higher education in the United Kingdom, the report casts a shadow of suspicion over anything connected to China. It cites threats from the Communist Party of China, visiting scholars, Chinese students and research bodies such as the China Scholarship Council and
Confucius Institutes . The underlying message is clear: collaboration with China is inherently compromising.
However, this narrative overlooks a more urgent and uncomfortable truth. Yes, China studies in the UK is indeed in crisis – not because of Chinese interference, but because of years of domestic neglect.
The British university system is suffering from chronic underfunding and a market-driven logic that has left modern languages and area studies on life support. Departments are being downsized, academics are losing jobs and plans are under way to cut degree programmes. In this context, China studies is simply another casualty of a much broader collapse in support for the humanities and social sciences.
Ironically, for the past two decades, it has been China's rise – the very development now cast as a threat – that has kept China studies afloat. Demand for Mandarin, research on China and
UK–China academic collaboration surged as China's global importance grew. Without that momentum, there would have been far fewer China-related posts, students and research opportunities in the UK.
The report takes aim at universities for engaging with Chinese institutions and for their supposed financial dependencies on tuition income from Chinese students. However, it fails to acknowledge the reality that, in a chronically underfunded sector, international students – including those from China – are not a problem to be solved but a financial lifeline.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
War declaration on display at Shenyang memorial
War declaration on display at Shenyang memorial A sculpture of soldiers marks the entrance to the museum's halls in Shenyang. Photo: RTHK The deputy head of a war museum in Shenyang said a declaration in 1931 against Japan's invasion demonstrated Chinese people's determination in fighting the war. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The declaration was made a day after the September 18 Incident in 1931 marking the start of Japan's invasion of China. "The September 19 declaration was the first declaration of war against Japan issued by the Communist Party of China," Zhang Lu, deputy director of the Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the CPC's Manchuria Provincial Committee, told Hong Kong reporters touring Shenyang. "It announced our political stance of resolute resistance against Japan and declared the Chinese people's strong determination to fight the Japanese invaders to the end." Zhang said the committee organised anti-Japanese armed forces in northeast China in support of nationwide resistance. In addition to the declaration, clothing, supplies and historical photographs of the troops are among the items on display. The memorial hall also features simulated guerrilla warfare.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
As Trump prepares to meet Putin, peace prospects in Ukraine war seem slim, analysts say
The stage is set for what could mark a turning point – or yet another false dawn – in efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. In a dramatic escalation of diplomatic efforts to resolve the grinding Ukraine conflict, now in its fourth year, US President Donald Trump is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin for face-to-face talks in Alaska on Friday. Security will be extraordinarily tight: airspace over the port city will be closed on Friday and Saturday and the US Secret Service will work closely with Russia's Federal Protective Service to ensure the leaders' safety. Indeed, the meeting's exact venue has not been officially disclosed, though The New York Times and local media reported that it would be held at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a combined US Air Force and Army base in Anchorage on Friday. While observers worldwide fixate on how the summit might shape the war in Ukraine – and possibly scramble the geopolitical landscape – the White House has worked to temper expectations. On Tuesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, acknowledged that with 'only one party' present, a deal was not possible. Despite strong objections from Kyiv and Brussels, neither Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky nor any EU official will take part in the talks. The White House said that Zelensky was not included because the invitation to meet came directly from Putin.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Revived Silk Route allows US to steam ahead of China, Russia in South Caucasus
The shortest Silk Route between China and Europe is set to reopen for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, following Friday's agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the conflict that had been blocking the way. Shoehorned last minute into negotiations by Azerbaijan's close ally Turkey , the US took on the role of security guarantor for Armenia in return for a lease to develop and operate the so-called Zangezur Corridor, a route linking Azerbaijan to its Karabakh enclave via a strip of Armenian territory bordering Iran. Dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the proposed project represents the first major US involvement in the South Caucasus since a 1994 contract with an international consortium that set Azerbaijan on the path to becoming a major oil and gas exporter – via pipelines through Turkey, rather than Iran or Russia US President Donald Trump (centre) is flanked by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right) and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at the peace signing ceremony in the White House on Friday. Photo: AP Briefing journalists, a White House official claimed 'the losers here are China, Russia and Iran'. Eurasia experts, however, said that the deal was not viewed in such binary terms by Armenia and Azerbaijan.
