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China interference inquiry is 'baffling', says Sydney University boss
Sydney's leading university vice-chancellors have defended themselves against accusations they are susceptible to Chinese political interference, as the sector struggles financially due to lost revenue from overseas student fees.
University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence said he was baffled by a recent federal government probe into his university's Confucius Institute, while giving evidence at the NSW government inquiry into the future of the state's tertiary education sector on Monday.
The University of Sydney. The NSW government is holding an inquiry into the future of the state's tertiary education sector.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
The inquiry was established in May to examine issues such as the post-pandemic return of overseas students, universities' financial sustainability, freedom of expression on campus and concerns about foreign political interference.
One Nation MP Mark Latham, who chairs the education committee, questioned whether universities' reliance on fees from Chinese international students for research funding had hindered "best practice" and the institutions' ability to work in the public interest.
The University of NSW was last month warned over free speech when it deleted social media posts about human rights in Hong Kong following an online backlash from Chinese nationalists.
Sydney University's Confucius Institute is also on the brink of becoming a test case for the status of China-funded culture centres in Australia, after the federal secretary of the Attorney-General's Department requested information about the centre under the foreign influence transparency scheme.
Vice-chancellor Michael Spence at the University of Sydney.Credit: James Brickwood
Mr Latham said Australian universities had been forced to respond to both the coronavirus pandemic and a "remarkable deterioration" in the Australia-Chinese diplomatic relationship, including "very clear suggestions of [Chinese] political interference in our nation".
Dr Spence acknowledged there was great interest in how the Australia-Chinese relationship was playing out in universities but said in his view it had "only been positive".
"There is no single instance that has been brought to our attention by the intelligence services of there being a problem with the university's engagement with China," Dr Spence said. "If there were, then the university would deal with it. And it would deal with it as an Australian institution with the interests of our own country first."
He told the inquiry that the Confucius Institute was a "community education activity", which teaches no University of Sydney students and makes no financial contribution to the university.
"The inquiry from the Attorney-General’s department is baffling. And we’ll reply to it, saying it’s kind of baffling," he said.
The University of NSW was also forced to back its commitment to free speech.
"We are not absolutely perfect ... Mr Latham pointed out a particular situation in which we failed," UNSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs told the inquiry, referring to the university’s handling of the online posts. "We acknowledge that and learn the lessons from that and we move on.
"But we will protect freedom of speech and academic freedom absolutely, in our university and on our campus."
University of Technology Sydney vice-chancellor Attila Brungs said universities were recognising "the changing geopolitical nature of our world".
"We are working with the government to make sure we have the right processes and systems in place to safeguard the independence and the autonomy of our institutions, while not shutting them down," Professor Brungs said.
A submission to the inquiry by Sydney University sociologist Salvatore Babones said there were more overseas students from China at the three leading Sydney universities than in California's 33 public universities combined; and each ranked in the top 10 universities outside China for their number of Chinese students.
Dr Spence said universities had been "excessively reliant on international student fees as a system, to keep our research infrastructure going". But he "utterly repudiated" claims that teachers were pressured to pass Chinese students to retain their business or that cheating had been allowed to flourish in universities.
clarification
An earlier version of this article said the federal Attorney-General's department demanded the University of Sydney explain why it should not be on the federal foreign influence register. It has been clarified to reflect that the university was given a notice to provide a range of specific documents and information relating to the Confucius Institute, but not required to justify the non-registration of the institute.