Amid China crackdown, 1100 scientists and students barred from UK last year

New Delhi: Amid a major government crackdown on research collaborations with China, more than 1,000 scientists and postgraduate students were barred from working in the UK last year on national security grounds.

According to The Guardian report, a record 1,104 scientists and postgraduate students were rejected by Foreign Office vetting in 2022, up from 128 in 2020 and just 13 in 2016.

The sharp increase follows a hardening of the government’s stance on scientific ties with China, with warnings from MI5, UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, of China doubling down on espionage, major research centres being quietly shut down and accusations by a minister that China’s leading genomics company had regularly sought to hack into the NHS’s genetic database.

According to the report, data supplied by leading universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College suggest that Chinese academics account for a majority of those denied clearance, at least at these institutions.

While many have welcomed the policy shift saying the number of academics being barred is “commensurate with the threat”, leading scientists, however, say the scheme is leaving universities struggling to recruit the best talent from abroad.

The recruitment process was “becoming a barrier,” according to Prof Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of Edinburgh University, because of the protracted delays and the “blanket” manner in which vetting was being implemented.

“Universities are very conscious of the need to understand and mitigate risk,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.

“But research projects are being delayed, attempts to recruit staff are being delayed and we don’t think it’s in anybody’s interests for that to be the case. It’s a significant issue,” Mathieson added.

1,104 of the 50,000 applications rejected

Figures obtained through a freedom of information request show that last year 839 student and 265 researchers’ applications were rejected – 1,104 of the 50,000 who applied.

A majority of applicants are thought to be scientists seeking to move to the UK to take up offers of research degrees or fellowships. But, according to The Guardian, researchers, including five Chinese scientists at Imperial college, did not pass clearance despite having already held positions at UK universities for several years – and who may have had to leave the UK as a result.

Charles Parton, a China expert at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said that a tightening of security was “encouraging in a sense”, but criticised the government’s failure to clearly articulate its broader policy objectives, including which areas of science are off-limits.

“If there is a China strategy, nobody knows what it is,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.

“Scientific collaboration with China is one of the most serious questions that needs addressing. Ultimately, there would be no people being turned down if there was a clear definition of what we can cooperate on,” added Parton.

With inputs from agencies

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