CRG Weekly: Confucius Institutes amendment, Cambodian naval facility and Tiananmen anniversary
News from the China Research Group
Confucius Institutes: CRG co-chair Alicia Kearns MP submitted an amendment to the Higher Education Bill that would require universities to report the funding and activities of Chinese state-backed Confucius Institutes, which have been accused of stifling free speech and academic freedom in the UK. The proposed legislative change would also give the Education Secretary the power to shut down Confucius Institutes or order universities to provide alternative Mandarin teaching options. More than 20 MPs have now signed the amendment, with the Bill set to be debated in the Commons next week.
The amendment and the CRG’s research into Confucius Institutes and UK government spending on Mandarin language teaching were covered in The Times, The Telegraph and Politico.
Taiwan: democracy in danger: Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, joined Tom Tugendhat MP on the Committee Corridor podcast to discuss the dangers to democracy in Taiwan, how the situation has changed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the potential global economic impacts of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
The stories driving the week
China reportedly building secret PLA naval facility in Cambodia
The Washington Post broke that - according to Western officials - China is secretly building a naval facility in Cambodia for the exclusive use of its military and is taking extraordinary measures to conceal the operation.
Officials from China and Cambodia broke ground on the controversial project at the Ream Naval Base, which Cambodian officials said will use grant aid from China to renovate the port, amid Western concern that Beijing is seeking a military outpost at the Gulf of Thailand.
The Cambodian Defense Minister dismissed such concerns, stressing that the project is in line with Cambodia's constitution, which bars foreign military bases on its territory. Beijing denied that the base would be solely for their navy's use, but both sides confirmed that China will help Cambodia expand and upgrade the base.
The WSJ published an opinion piece on how China is building a blue water navy and a network of bases to extend its military and political influence.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, met at the major Shangri-la defence summit in Singapore. to discuss military ‘guard rails’.
2. European Parliament passes landslide vote on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
The European Parliament adjudged on Thursday that China’s alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang hold a “serious risk of genocide”. Lawmakers voted 513 in favour of the resolution in Strasbourg. There were 14 abstentions and one vote against.
The language was part of a broader resolution condemning China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic Muslims in the northwestern region. The European Parliament further advocated for sanctioning several high officials and called for the few remaining EU member states to suspend extradition accords with China and Hong Kong.
This week also saw Lithuania's foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis give an interview to Nikkei Asia, in which he called for other Eastern European nations to follow his country's lead and withdraw from China's "17+1" economic cooperation bloc with the region.
Al Jazeera reported that the Czech Republic is actively considering an exit from China’s investment platform, risking political and economic blowback from Beijing.
Writing in Foreign Affairs magazine, Ian Johnson explores how Beijing’s economic missteps and support for Russia have alienated European leaders.
3. Arrests in Hong Kong as world marks Tiananmen Square anniversary
Last weekend marked the 33rd anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square.
Hong Kong authorities on Saturday arrested six people near Victoria Park -where tens of thousands of residents have typically lit candles to commemorate the event - as they pounced on any attempt at public commemoration.
Candles appeared in the windows of several foreign countries’ missions to Hong Kong and on various street corners around the city. The move was criticised by Beijing last year and cited as evidence of foreign interference in a 6,300-word “factsheet.”
Tiananmen vigils were held in London, Edinburgh and more than 20 other cities around the world in remembrance of all those killed in the 1989 Beijing crackdown.
An emotive editorial in The Guardian described the determination of Hong Kong exiles in the UK to keep the spirit of protest and public commemoration alive.
4. Shanghai reimposes lockdowns as mixed economic data revealed
Half of Shanghai’s districts will be shuttered this weekend to test millions of residents after signs emerged of renewed community transmission of the virus
China’s most populous city detected 11 new infections on Thursday, with the the reintroduction of restrictions underscoring the difficulty of squashing the highly infectious Omicron variant through mass testing and strict lockdowns.
Sixth Tone’s Luo Yahan and Wu Peiyue penned an illuminating piece on the cost to Chinese cities of setting up new testing sites to meet demand. Eyck Freeman and Yanzhong Huang argued in Foreign Policy that the CCP will continue to crack down on Covid rather than risk losing control.
Meanwhile, newly-released May trade data showed that China’s exports grew by 16.9% as Covid-related bottlenecks on production and logistics cleared up, but a slowdown looms this year as global consumer demand for goods cools.
Chinese President Xi Jinping used a visit to the southwestern province of Sichuan to urge local to do more to stabilise the pandemic-hit economy ahead of the 20th Party Congress this autumn.
Weekend reads
Taiwan: preparing for a potential Chinese invasion. Xi Jinping’s ambitions and the modernisation of China’s military are prompting growing fears about an attempt to annex the island, write Kathrin Hille and Demetri Sevastopulo in the FT.
The Future of Open Source Intelligence for UK National Security. A new joint paper from RUSI and the Alan Turing Institute’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security aims to shape policy regarding the use of publicly available information (PAI) and open source intelligence (OSINT) for national security purposes.
Archive Collection: 100 years of China in international politics. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Chatham House journal International Affairs, Evelyn Goh curated a collection of 21 fascinating articles on China published in the journal since 1922.