‘Pervasive censorship’ at UK campuses in China, claims report

Well yes exactly. This is the problem with this international campus. It tends to be China that gets singled out but the same issues will arise in Kazakhstan and elsewhere. But it is the dilemma. We want Chinese gold (and that of other nations) but that will always come with a quite hefty non-monetary price I am afraid. The same is true of Chinese investment in the UK. We can have that but only at the cost of interference in our affairs as we see with the super Embassy plans and the spying issue (is China an investment partner or an enemy state?). I often think it is a little like the situation in the 1800s onwards when British capital was invested around the world, but with that investment came formal and informal empire and British hegemony (often applied in a most brutal, frequently violent manner). The British were everywhere in this time and so was their capital. Now it's China's capital (and that of the Saudis, UEA and Qatar for that matter) that is spreading world wide and if we want that investment in the UK to create jobs and growth, then we will lose our independence (such as it is) and have to compromise on our core values. It is no good, on the one hand, bleating about universal human rights, the rights of minorities, freedom of speech and thought, while, on the other, soliciting China's investment in our industries and institutions. I guess we (and Europe in general) are getting a taste of our own medicine, or will be over the next few decades.

Indeed so! To be honest this is Hobson's Choice is it not. If we don't like it don't take the money.

As usual, reports such as this only give part of the story, probably to get their click bait numbers up. The modules that are being talked about are required in every Chinese degree and educational institute from primary school upwards. It is not hidden and almost every agreement will cover this. Why should UK concepts of freedom of speech be applied outside of the UKs back yard. During the empire, was the UK respecting of other cultures or did it expect those 'fortunate enough to be anglicised' to follow UK traditions? Rather than worrying about China, perhaps more time could be spend highlighting further the erosion of rights taking place across the pond.