Institutions of higher learning such as Lund University in Sweden discovered that Chinese students who came through the channel of the “Commission for Leftovers” were forced to sign an agreement of allegiance to the CCP. The picture shows the main building of Lund University. (Wikipedia public domain)
[The Epoch Times, April 08, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Cheng Wen) “There are uncertainties in this (the public agreement signed by Chinese students studying abroad), for example, what does it mean to ‘go against China’s national interests’? Therefore We have temporarily decided not to recruit more (Chinese) graduate students through CSC.” Professor and director of scientific research at the world-renowned Karolinska Institutet, KI in Sweden Associate Dean Bob Harris said.
“I have always been guilty because what we received was actually (people’s) hard-earned money from the dictatorship.” A research team leader at Karolinska Institutet and a supervisor who supervises CSC graduate students said so.
“CSC graduate students” or “CSC students” in Swedish universities refer to Chinese graduate students who have received scholarship sponsorship from the “Chinese Scholarship Council” (Chinese Scholarship Council, CSC, referred to as “CSC”) to study in Sweden Or research scholars, “CSC Scholarship” is also known as “Chinese Government Scholarship”, and CSC students are also Chinese government-sponsored international students in a broad sense.
Karolinska Institutet is one of Sweden’s top universities, and a committee of the medical school is responsible for the review and award of the “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine”. Through cooperation with CSC, the college once accepted more than 30 Chinese students every year.
In addition to Karolinska Institutet, three famous universities in Sweden have also decided to stop enrolling CSC students, and more and more Swedish universities are considering suspending or completely stopping enrolling CSC students. It is believed that Sweden has begun a large-scale rejection of Chinese government-sent students, which is the first of its kind in Europe.
The Whistleblower makes a dramatic debut CSCSecret agreement shocks Swedish university circles
It was a dramatic incident at Lund University in southern Sweden in 2020 that triggered more and more Swedish universities to reject Chinese government-sponsored students.
It was in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, and a Chinese female doctoral student at Lund University was forced to postpone part of her work due to the epidemic, and she did not do well in a midterm exam, making it very likely that she will not be able to finish her studies on time — which also accidentally led to her becoming a passive whistleblower, which then set off a domino effect that she had never thought of.
Professor David Bryder, who was the supervisor of the Chinese female doctoral student at Lund University at the time, recalled: “Suddenly, she became very disturbed. We were trying to understand why, and that’s when she told us this. Thing: She has a (CSC) agreement in English, which seems reasonable; but she also has a Chinese agreement. She told us that if she does not finish her studies on time, (under the Chinese agreement) her family may They will be forced to pay back the money (to the Chinese government), and even face fines.”
Dagens Nyheter, DN, the national newspaper with the largest circulation in Sweden, reported that the Chinese doctoral student showed Lund University a Chinese-language agreement signed by her family and CSC, which not only At Lund University, it even dropped a shock bomb in the Swedish university circle.
This is a legally binding agreement that Chinese students studying abroad must sign with CSC before going abroad. In addition to requiring them to complete their studies on time and return to China after completing their studies, the agreement also specifically requires them to be loyal to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. “For Serve the interests of the (CCP) regime” and must not participate in “activities” overseas that go against the will of the CCP authorities. Once a Chinese student violates any of these terms for any reason, his family in China may bear a huge economic debt to the Chinese government.
David Gisselsson Nord, Deputy Dean for Internationalization at Lund University Faculty of Medicine, said: “We were so surprised! We had never heard of such an agreement. So when the next ( When the Chinese) students came, we asked to see the (CSC) agreement, and that’s how we found out about the terms.”
“What really surprised me even more was that the agreement also said that the student’s guarantor—usually a close relative—could not leave China as long as the student was abroad. The way the rule works, with family members being held hostage in their own country. It’s very disturbing,” Nord added.
Both Nord of Lund University and Harris of Karolinska Institutet emphasized that they were not criticizing Chinese students, but instead believed that Chinese students were successful, well-educated and ambitious.
But Nord believes that the CSC agreement puts Chinese students under so much pressure, which is not in line with the Swedish “University Regulations”, which stipulates that the conditions of scholarships for students must be fair.
After the secret agreement was exposed, many prestigious Swedish schools rejected the CCP’s government-sponsored international students
The Daily News, which has been tracking reports and investigating the incident since then, said that Lund University’s Nord Associate Dean said: “This is why we and Uppsala University decided not to admit CSC students. s reason.”
Lund University and Uppsala University were the first Swedish universities to formally reject CSC students, and the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) soon followed. These are prestigious Swedish schools with an international reputation.
Then, Karolinska Institutet chose to suspend its cooperation with CSC.
“We’ve been negotiating (on the secret agreement document) with CSC since May (2022), but we haven’t arrived in port yet,” Harris said.
“Daily News” disclosed that in mid-July 2022, the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm convened more than 20 representatives of Chinese students from different Swedish universities. A meeting of the Communist Party and the daily life of foreign students.
In January this year, in response to the Daily News’ question about CSC’s cooperation with Swedish universities, Cui Aimin, China’s ambassador to Sweden, said: “All government-funded student study abroad programs will meet specific requirements. China Scholarship Council It also follows international practice, which is not surprising. The cooperation between China and Sweden is beneficial to both parties.”
Why do colleges and universities “actively choose to close their eyes” to introduce CSC students
Expressen, another nationally distributed newspaper in Sweden, put it this way in an editorial in February: “When you’re dealing with a communist dictatorship, the ‘openness benefits both sides’ argument stands Can’t stand.”
“After the debate in recent years, it is impossible for Swedish universities to claim that they are ignorant of the working methods of the (Chinese) Communist Party. If you are still naive today, it means that you have actively chosen to close your eyes.” “Express” to those Swedish universities that have not publicly proposed to limit or stop accepting Chinese state-sponsored students have voiced their dissatisfaction.
According to the “Mainichi Shimbun” survey, Sweden has enrolled at least 176 CSC doctoral students since 2019, and Karolinska Institutet and Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) are the two Swedish universities that receive the most CSC students .
The person in charge of Karolinska Institutet said that by enrolling Chinese students, the cost of the medical school will be halved.
In a report published by “Daily News” on April 5, a research team leader at Karolinska Institutet said: “I have always been guilty because what we received was actually from the dictatorship ( People’s) hard-earned money. Now we are contributing to strengthening the Chinese (CCP) government. We are training researchers for them.” The research leader himself is a supervisor of a CSC doctoral student. In order to protect his Chinese students, He wishes to remain anonymous.
When asked why he brought in CSC students knowing there was a problem, the doctoral supervisor said: “I have no choice. The finances are too tight. I have a budget and I have to maintain it. They (CSC graduate students) are very Cheap. If I can’t stick to my budget, I’m going to be out.”
Since 2018, doctoral students at Swedish universities have become salaried employees and are no longer supported by scholarships, which increases costs for universities. Some universities then try to take advantage of exceptions to the rules, for example, within the framework of aid programs, to enroll postgraduate students who do not require a salary but remain on scholarships. This was opposed by some union representatives.
Kjell Nilsson, a university lecturer at Lund University, said: “You just want cheap labor. In my opinion, this is against the Swedish University Regulations. We decided that the CSC or other scholarship funders could not It counts as an exception in the statute.” He is also the union representative of the Swedish Public Servants Union (ST) at the school.
Professor Stefan Östlund, vice-rector for global relations at Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, also admitted that recruiting CSC students would help reduce costs for the university.
“Daily News” satirized Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden through cooperation with CSC’s “Aid and Capacity Building Program” to achieve the purpose of exempting doctoral students from Sweden’s “University Regulations” to be employed as employees. It commented that Royal Institute of Technology In doing so, universities are actually strengthening the capacity building of the Chinese regime by training CSC students.
even accepted Chinese graduate students with ties to the Chinese military
In addition to CSC graduate students, the Daily News investigation also found that Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm on the east coast and Chalmers University of Technology (CTH) in Gothenburg on the west coast have also received 30 Chinese Army (PLA) students in the past five years. ) connected Chinese graduate students.
The Express criticized Chalmers University of Technology in an editorial in February this year, saying: “Chalmers’ laid-back attitude is both surprising and worrying. Western Sweden is repeatedly singled out as being particularly vulnerable to Chinese espionage influence, and is more vulnerable to Communist Party pressure. And Chalmers – with its cutting-edge technology research – is of course a target of great interest to the Chinese intelligence and defense industries.”
Sweden’s national security agency has long warned that the Chinese regime uses its citizens to acquire technology from Swedish universities that is later used to strengthen China’s military.
“We are using Swedish tax funds to contribute to the improvement of China’s (CCP’s) combat military capabilities.” Stefan Kristiansson, the former head of the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Agency (MUST), said as early as 2019 That’s what a report warns of Swedish universities. At that time, hundreds of Chinese government-sponsored researchers entered major universities in Sweden.
The European Union has labeled Communist China a “strategic rival” and a security challenge. “Express” believes that this should be enough to make European universities stop cooperating with the Chinese military.
Rejection of Chinese government-sponsored international students is becoming more and more “politically correct” in Sweden
“It is also absurd to mention ‘freedom of research’ when cooperating with China,” said the editorial of “Express”. “By using student organizations, revoking visas, making threats and promising money, the Communist Party tries to induce self-censorship in Western universities. The Chinese regime It has also repeatedly attacked foreign researchers — one of whom is Björn Jerdén, a Swede active at the Swedish Foreign Policy Institute, who was put on the sanctions list two years ago.”
“This shows why you can’t treat China like any other country — the argument that ‘opening up is good for both parties’ doesn’t hold water when you’re dealing with a communist dictatorship,” appealed the Express.
“If universities are unwilling to act, the state must intervene. Chinese researchers with ties to the (Chinese Communist Party) military should not be granted visas to study or work in Sweden. Both for Sweden and for research freedom.”
According to an insider in a Swedish university, since the CSC secret agreement was exposed from Lund University, the discussion of rejecting Chinese government-sponsored international students in major Swedish universities has become “increasingly heated”, and “this has become more and more serious”. It has become a matter of “political correctness.”
Responsible editor: Li Lin#