University of Melbourne lecturer’s ‘anti-China’ remarks spark discrimination concerns among some Asian students

Asian students at University of Melbourne have concerns of academic discrimination after a business lecturer’s online posts stirred controversy

Chris Lloyd said Chinese students would likely be ‘recalled’ amid a mainland-Taiwan war, and urged Australian universities to woo Indonesian and Indian students instead

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

99+

Asian students at Australia’s University of Melbourne are worried they may be marked down and discriminated against, after a lecturer made comments online linked to recent media warnings of a war between Australia and China. Photo: Shutterstock

Su-Lin Tanin Singapore

Published: 10:26am, 21 Apr 2023Updated: 10:28am, 21 Apr 2023

Some Asian students at Australia’s University of Melbourne are worried they may face academic discrimination, after a lecturer made comments online linked to recent media warnings of a war between Australia and China.

Following reports published by The Sydney Morning Herald and its sister publication warning of an impending war with China last month, Melbourne Business School academic Chris Lloyd suggested in a Facebook post that Australian universities should reduce their “very high exposure to Chinese students”.

Attaching a link to one of the articles in his post, the professor of statistics said if a war broke out between the mainland and Taiwan, Chinese students would probably be “recalled”, and universities should “target more Indonesian and Indian students instead to promote business and ethnic diversity”.

Students at the business school, including those from mainland China and countries such as Singapore, set up a public petition calling for the university to take action, saying the comments were negative and potentially racially vilifying.

Lloyd told This Week in Asia that under advice from the University of Melbourne, he would not comment on the complaints about his post. He said his message was about diversification, not race.

Part-time MBA student Jackie Song, a Singaporean, said she felt “offended and very uncomfortable” by the lecturer’s post, adding that she felt it had created an “unsafe” learning environment for students. “It may lead to questions about his fairness and ability to make sound judgment. His behaviour could put his students in a vulnerable and disadvantaged position.”

Chinese students head back to their universities overseas after the summer break bid farewell at Shanghai Pudong airport. Photo: SCMP

Chinese student Terry Wu, who had attended Lloyd’s classes, said he previously felt safe at the university surrounded by “people who are equipped to think”.