China’s National-Security Law Reaches Into Harvard, Princeton Classrooms
China’s National-Security Law
Reaches Into Harvard, Princeton Classrooms
Professors at elite U.S.
universities turn to code names, warning labels to protect students
Part of the challenge is the
growing list of subjects Beijing considers off-limits, said Kerry Ratigan, an
assistant professor of political science at Amherst College.
By Lucy Craymer Aug. 19,
2020 5:30 am ET
The effect of the new
national-security law that China imposed on Hong Kong is extending far beyond
the territory to American college campuses.
Classes at some elite
universities will carry a warning label this fall: This course may cover
material considered politically sensitive by China. And schools are weighing
measures to try to shield students and faculty from prosecution by Chinese
authorities.
At Princeton University,
students in a Chinese politics class will use codes instead of names on their
work to protect their identities. At Amherst College a professor is considering
anonymous online chats so students can speak freely. And Harvard Business
School may excuse students from discussing politically sensitive topics if they
are worried about the risks.
Distance Learning Students
from China and Hong Kong make up roughly a third of all foreign students in the
U.S. International students in the U.S. Source: Institute of International
Education and Open Doors Note: Years show beginning of the academic year.
The issue has become
particularly pressing because at least the first semester at many universities
will be taught online, meaning some students from China and Hong Kong will
connect with their U.S. classmates via video links. Some academics fear the
classes could be recorded and ultimately end up in the hands of Chinese
authorities.
Almost
370,000 Chinese students and roughly 7,000 from Hong Kong enrolled at
U.S. universities in the 2018-19 school year, and academics in the U.S. say
they often opt to take classes on Chinese law, culture and politics because
they want to understand more about their country and how the world views it.
“We cannot self-censor,” said
Rory Truex, an assistant professor who teaches Chinese politics at Princeton.
“If we, as a Chinese teaching community, out of fear stop teaching things like
Tiananmen or Xinjiang or whatever sensitive topic the Chinese government
doesn’t want us talking about, if we cave, then we’ve lost.”
His course will now come with
a warning that some of the material might be sensitive and of concern to
China’s government, and he said he was introducing blind grading. Students will
hand in work bearing a code rather than their name, to prevent any student from
being linked to particular views or arguments.
A spokesman for Princeton
declined to comment.
Meg Rithmire, who teaches
political science at Harvard Business School, plans similar measures on a
compulsory first-year course for roughly 800 students seeking a master’s degree
in business administration. One of the case studies discussed requires students
to read diaries from Uighur Muslims held in camps in China’s Xinjiang
region—where Beijing is accused of large-scale human-rights abuses—and also
covers Hong Kong, Taiwan and the legitimacy of the Communist party.
“There is no way that I can
say to my students, ‘You can say whatever you want on the phone call and you
are totally free and safe here,’” she said. “It’s more about harm mitigation.”
China Passes Hong Kong
Security Law: What’s Next
China passed a national
security law for Hong Kong that aims to quell anti-government protests
following a year of unrest. WSJ’s Josh Chin explains why some countries have
criticized the law and why critics say it could threaten the city’s status as a
global financial hub.
Harvard Business School is
looking to introduce an amnesty for students—including Americans—worried about
the implications of openly discussing sensitive topics, Prof. Rithmire said.
Class participation is normally an element of students’ grades, but if the
amnesty is put in place they won’t be penalized for opting out. A Harvard
Business School spokesman declined to comment.
The new national-security
law—which bars what it calls sedition, subversion, terrorism and colluding with
foreign forces—allows
China to pursue and prosecute people seen as violating it even outside
Hong Kong. A naturalized American citizen from Hong Kong, Samuel Chu,
reportedly was recently included
on a list of fugitives being sought under the law after he lobbied the
U.S. Congress to punish China for eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy.
“China has always been
hostile to Western journalists and academics, and this amps it up,” said Dr.
Truex.
‘There is no way that I can
say to my students, “You can say whatever you want on the phone call and you
are totally free and safe here,”’ said Meg Rithmire, who teaches political
science at Harvard Business School. ‘It’s more about harm mitigation.’
Avery Goldstein, a professor
in the political science department at the University of Pennsylvania, said as
soon as students enroll for his course online he plans to send out the syllabus
and flag that it may contain sensitive information. A security breach of his
online classes could now compromise students’ safety, he said—or his own, if he
were to travel to China.
“We have to leave it up to
the students whether they enroll, because it is ultimately their lives that are
going to be affected,” he said. “I will make it clear that there is nothing I
can do to protect them.”
The University of
Pennsylvania didn’t return requests for comment.
Concerns about China’s
influence on academics around the world have grown over the past two decades,
as some educational institutions set up campuses in China and many increasingly
rely on fees paid by Chinese students, who account for more foreign students in
the U.S. than any other country.
There are indications that
Chinese students in the U.S. could fall afoul of Chinese laws. A University of
Minnesota student was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment after returning
home to the Chinese city of Wuhan last year. He was convicted of “provocation”
for tweets he wrote while studying in the U.S. that allegedly mocked Chinese
leaders.
With remote learning changing
teaching methods, academics are discussing how to handle students living under
other authoritarian regimes. China’s new law and the large number of Chinese
students studying at U.S. colleges have made it a more urgent priority.
Part of the challenge is the
growing list of subjects Beijing considers off-limits, said Kerry Ratigan, an
assistant professor of political science at Amherst College. In the mid 2000s,
she could openly discuss public policy with China-based academics, but that is
now sensitive, she said.
“It’s a moving target,” said
Dr. Ratigan, who fears increased risks for students who are Chinese citizens or
have close family in China.
Amherst College declined to
comment.
Along with providing warnings
for students taking her classes she’s looking at ways to hold anonymous online
chats so that students—her classes number about 20—could express opinions
openly without fear of recrimination.
“It’s very difficult. In an
ideal world we could have these more sensitive conversations in person,” she
said.
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