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Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg stops accepting state-funded Chinese students and researchers over spying fears

  • Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg told staff it has stopped taking researchers funded by the state-run China Scholarship Council
  • The German government backed the move, citing espionage fears, but some academics fear more Chinese students could be targeted in future

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Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg will no longer accept students funded by the China Scholarship Council. Photo: Handout
Dannie Peng
A German university’s decision to stop accepting researchers funded by a Chinese government body has prompted warnings that further restrictions or even bans may be imposed as relations between the two countries continue to cool.
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Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) in the state of Bavaria, told staff in an internal message that it had decided to suspend collaboration with holders of scholarships awarded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) indefinitely as of June 1 “to reduce the risk of industrial espionage”.

The message, which has been seen by the Post, pointed to a contract that students sign with the CSC, which is controlled by China’s Ministry of Education. Students who sign the contract pledge allegiance to the state, promise to stay in touch with the Chinese embassy and return to China after finishing their studies.

The university said these promises violated Germany’s Basic Law as researchers were unable to fully exercise their academic freedom and freedom of expression.

It also warned: “The political landscape has changed significantly in recent times and topics such as protection against scientific and industrial espionage, data security and safeguarding intellectual property also post a challenge for our FAU.”

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It also said its previous collaboration with the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei – which has been blacklisted by the United States and excluded from several Western broadband networks over security concerns – had been the cause of growing international concern. It said that as a result it would not sign any more research or partnership agreements with the firm in future.

Lu Mengji, a Chinese virology professor at the University Hospital of Essen, said this type of contract was nothing new and recipients of grants from the CSC did not take these commitments seriously, but Germany was suddenly concerned because of the broader political situation.

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