(Central News Agency, Taipei, 8th) Tens of thousands of government-funded students in China study abroad every year, but they are deprived of the freedom they dreamed of. German media revealed that they are forced to be loyal. In addition to repaying the scholarship, high liquidated damages must also be paid.
Deutsche Welle published a report titled “How China Controls Elite Students Studying in Germany” on the 7th, pointing out that a joint study with the German independent media Correctiv revealed a phenomenon, for students who receive Chinese government scholarships to study in Germany, loyalty to The government is the top priority, and a “tightening spell” restrictive agreement keeps them bowing their heads, but such an agreement violates Germany’s principles of academic freedom.
The report pointed out that Chinese students studying in Germany are strictly controlled by the Chinese government, especially those who have received scholarships from the China Scholarship Council. Frequently report to the Chinese embassy. Violators of the agreement may be punished.
The report published the latest 9-page agreement signed in 2021. The core of the agreement is to swear absolute loyalty to the government and “establish a sense of responsibility and mission to serve the country and return to serve the country.” The signatories pledge “not to engage in activities that are detrimental to the interests and security of the homeland”.
The agreement also stipulates that scholarship students must “consciously safeguard the honor of the motherland” and “should obey the guidance and management of the embassy (consulate) abroad…” during their studies. Regularly report the learning progress to the embassy, consulate and domestic selection unit, and fill in a “situation report form”, which is obviously used by a third party to collect information.
In the event of “failing to complete studies without justified reasons” or “unilaterally terminating the agreement without permission”, in addition to refunding the scholarship, a liquidated damages will also be paid. According to the agreement, the four-year funding amount is RMB 560,000 (approximately NT$2.5 million).
Mareike Ohlberg, an expert on China at the Marshall Fund Asia Program in Germany, believes that the China Scholarship Council’s agreement shows the Chinese Communist Party’s “desire for control” and an obvious call for mobilization. intervene when necessary.”
Ma Xiaoyue analyzed that the Chinese people are not free abroad, but continue to be under the surveillance of the party, and harming national interests is regarded as the most serious breach of contract. Worse than murder.”
However, what exactly is an act that harms China’s interests is deliberately not specified in the agreement. What is also vague is what consequences the parties will encounter.
A young man who signed the agreement described his fear. He said that he would never dare to participate in demonstrations in Germany, because the Chinese embassy and consulate would respond “very harshly”, and he would be attacked at the airport when he returned to China. Interrogation, “They asked me if I knew this or that person. I always said yes yes, but I don’t know what these people did”.
According to the China Scholarship Council, China has sent 124,000 scholarship students abroad in the past five years.
The University of Munich signed an agreement with the China Scholarship Council in 2005. So far, a total of 492 scholarship students from the China Scholarship Council have participated. LMU calls the China Scholarship Council “one of the pillars of international relations” and expresses its “sincere thanks”.
In addition, since 2009, a total of 487 China Scholarship Council scholarship students have studied at Free University of Berlin, claiming to maintain a “special priority partnership” with the China Scholarship Council; but these schools do not know that there is an “attempt to intimidate” behavior.
The University of Munich said it was not aware of the signing of the agreement between the Chinese scholarship students and the Chinese government, and the school had never received reports of attempts to intimidate Chinese scholarship students.
The Free University of Berlin said it was not aware of individual cases of such agreements. “But we know that the grantees have to return to China after the end of the funding period, otherwise obviously the scholarship has to be returned”.
Kai Gehring, chairman of the Educational Research Committee of the German Bundestag, believes that the China Scholarship Council agreement violates the academic freedom guaranteed by the German Basic Law, “the mandatory allegiance to one-party dictatorship and patriotic ideology, and the system of consecutive seats for so-called violations. , which makes common and independent scientific work characterized by curiosity, free spirit and creativity impossible”. (Editor: Tang Peijun/Zhou Huiying) 1120308