Michael Spence warns of ‘anti-China hysteria’

Sydney Uni VC defends research collaboration with Chinese scholars amid security concerns.

Dr Michael Spence, vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence has said “you don’t stop making kitchen knives just because they can be used to murder someone”, as he defended research collaboration with Chinese scholars amid concerns it could be used to advance China’s strategic interests.

The Australian revealed today The University of Queensland had launched an investigation into one of its professors who formed an artificial intelligence company - allegedly used by Beijing to surveil minority Uighurs - while working at the institution.

Speaking on ABC Radio National this morning, Dr Spence downplayed concerns regarding Australia’s research collaboration efforts with China, saying the debate had been clouded by “anti-China hysteria.”

“I mean I can use to butter my bread, I can use it to murder my wife - it doesn’t mean that we ought not to be making kitchen knives,” Dr Spence said.

An Australian Strategic Policy Institute paper said Heng Tao Shen, who has relocated to China but still holds an honorary professorship at UQ, built the $200 million company Koala AI, which provides surveillance technology used by Beijing to monitor Uighur Muslims.

When pressed on the analogy by host Hamish MacDonald about whether he would develop a knife in partnership with someone he knew was planning to commit murder, Dr Spence said he wouldn’t, but collaboration between the two nations had led to important research advancements.

Education Minister Dan Tehan is due to meet with university vice-chancellors today to discuss protecting certain areas of research from foreign influence and to review a plan to deal with cyber threats.

University leaders have cautioned that many research areas in which they collaborate with China - for example materials science communication and health - are not primarily for military or security use but could conceivably have that purpose.

Mr Spence also took aim at Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie’s “very unhelpful” comments where he compared China’s rise to that of Nazi Germany.

He also defended his university’s reliance on the fees paid by Chinese international students as a report from the Centre for Independent Studies last week revealed the sandstone university had received one fifth of its revenue from Chinese students - totalling $500 million n 2017.