Campus conundrums: clashes and collaborations

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This book chapter examines the challenges faced by Australian universities as they navigate issues around free speech on campuses and research collaboration with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The University of Queensland (UQ) serves as a case in point, with debates around protests and counter-protests supported by the PRC’s Consul-General in Brisbane raising questions around free speech and foreign interference by the PRC government in Australian universities. Similar questions were raised with regard to UQ’s collaboration in research, particularly in science and technology, with institutions in the PRC. These developments have parallels in the US, where there has been heightened concerns around intellectual property protection and national security implications of engagement with the PRC in universities. It is likely that such concerns will continue to intensify in both the US and Australia, with research collaboration in particular carrying both significant benefits and risks for Australia’s economic and national security interests. Decisions on engagement with the PRC in the university sector will necessitate clarity and focus on Australia’s national interests and values.

Read the article online here.

Note: This article was published in China Story Yearbook: China Dreams, April 2020, 254-267.

Authors:

Jane Golley, Director, Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University

Paul Harris, Director, North American Liaison Office, Australian National University

James Laurenceson, Director, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney