UK Academics Urge Transparency in University Donations Amid Concerns Over Chinese Influence
A group of academicians and intellectuals in the United Kingdom are calling for universities to be more transparent about their donation sources. This follows a report revealing that a Hong Kong-based donor has been funding a prominent China studies institute at King’s College London.
The non-profit research organization UK-China Transparency released a report in July, uncovering that 99.9% of donations, totaling over 10 million pounds (USD 13.2 million), to the King’s Lau China Institute at King’s College were from Lau Ming-wai. Lau Ming-wai is the son of Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau and chair of property investor Chinese Estates Holdings.
King’s College has not responded to Freedom of Information requests from UK-China Transparency regarding the donations. UK law allows anyone to seek information held by public bodies. Academicians have criticized King’s College for this lack of transparency. Andrew Chubb, a senior lecturer at Lancaster University, said, “King’s decision was corrosive as far as trust in the institutional code.”
Sam Dunning, director of UK-China Transparency, stated, “The public should know. It’s in the public interest for King’s to be transparent about whether there was any influence by the donor over the institute’s remit.”
King’s College claims its global institutes operate independently from donors and that donors do not influence research focus. However, concerns remain about China’s influence on academic work, especially given the UK’s reliance on international students, many of whom are from China, to fund universities.
In April, over 120 academics, politicians, and campaigners signed an open letter coordinated by openDemocracy, expressing concerns over opaque university funding in the UK. A study by openDemocracy found that since 2017, over 281 million pounds have been anonymously donated to top British universities, with the University of Oxford receiving 106 million pounds.
John Heathershaw, a professor at the University of Exeter, explained, “There’s no requirement to disclose names when challenged. It’s an entirely non-transparent situation in the UK.”
Doubts Revealed
UK Academics -: These are teachers and researchers working in universities in the United Kingdom.
Transparency -: This means being open and clear about where the money is coming from.
University Donations -: Money given to universities by people or organizations to support their work.
Chinese Influence -: This means that China might be trying to control or affect what happens in the universities.
Hong Kong-based donor -: A person from Hong Kong who gives money to support something.
China studies institute -: A part of the university that focuses on learning and researching about China.
King’s College London -: A famous university in London, UK.
UK-China Transparency -: An organization that looks into how open and clear the UK and China are about their dealings.
Lau Ming-wai -: A person from Hong Kong who gave money to the university. He is the son of Joseph Lau.
Joseph Lau -: A rich businessman from Hong Kong.
Academics -: Teachers and researchers at universities.
