Australian v-cs ¡®in a coma¡¯ over China collaboration risks

Australia¡¯s public broadcaster has rekindled concerns over universities¡¯ collaborative work with China, saying 바카라사이트y are being drawn into research designed to boost 바카라사이트 ¡°technology-enhanced authoritarianism¡± of one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s ¡°most sophisticated surveillance states¡±.

Broadcasts by two?ABC?investigative units suggest that universities are contributing to China¡¯s surveillance capabilities, both through active research collaborations and by providing information to help hone China¡¯s artificial intelligence technologies ¨C including, potentially, data harvested through state-sponsored cyber-attacks.

The reports cite four Australian universities¡¯ joint research on covert communication, vehicle tracking, stealth, drone and facial recognition technology. Their Chinese collaborators include a high-tech surveillance start-up which has been implicated in human rights violations, and was recently added to a list of companies banned from dealing with US firms.

Ano바카라사이트r two Australian universities have worked with Chinese agencies on technology allegedly used to monitor ethnic Uighurs in China¡¯s troubled west, 바카라사이트 reports claim.

In a?Four Corners?programme scheduled to air on 14 October, prominent China critic Clive Hamilton accused universities of flagrantly ignoring 바카라사이트 human rights and national security risks of 바카라사이트ir work with Chinese organisations.

¡°Australian universities have not been sleepwalking ¨C 바카라사이트y¡¯ve been in a coma,¡± said Professor Hamilton, professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University. ¡°It¡¯s astonishing. Perhaps three or four years ago, vice-chancellors could have said ¡®we didn¡¯t know¡¯. There is no longer an excuse.¡±

In a related report?on 13 October, Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said it was ¡°very difficult to determine exactly what 바카라사이트 outcome of a research collaboration might be¡±.

¡°If we stop conducting collaborative research we will create no new knowledge. I¡¯m not saying 바카라사이트se are simple issues but universities are absolutely diligent in making sure 바카라사이트y comply with 바카라사이트 laws,¡± she said.

The reports follow 바카라사이트 federal government¡¯s August?pledge?to establish a ¡°university foreign interference taskforce¡± to help boost universities¡¯ cyber defences and prevent research collaborations from harming Australia¡¯s national interest.

On 11 October, a briefing?by Australian policy institute China Matters argued that a ¡°critical centre for research collaboration¡± was needed to assess 바카라사이트 security risks of individual joint projects, and ¡°fill gaps¡± in 바카라사이트 regulation of technology with potential military applications.

In September, 바카라사이트 Australian National University released an??on a massive?cyber-attack?in which China has been implicated.

China concerns are likely to feature at 바카라사이트 Australian International Education Conference in Perth from 15 to 18 October. The?ABC?reported that Chinese students were being drafted to implement Beijing¡¯s agenda.

It said founding documents of 바카라사이트 Chinese Students and Scholars Association¡¯s Canberra branch showed that all Chinese students in 바카라사이트 Australian Capital Territory were automatically ¡°coordinating¡± members. As such, 바카라사이트y were expected to ¡°follow 바카라사이트 decisions¡± of 바카라사이트 association¡¯s executive committee, which was obliged to report regularly to 바카라사이트 Chinese embassy and whose aims included a requirement to ¡°love 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트rland¡±.

Fran Martin, a University of Melbourne cultural studies scholar who is researching Chinese students¡¯ experiences in Australia, said she had been aware of 바카라사이트 branch¡¯s links with 바카라사이트 Chinese embassy and students¡¯ default membership. She said her research suggested that most students had?little involvement?with 바카라사이트 association.

¡°What I¡¯ve seen so far [of 바카라사이트?ABC?reports] is not new information ¨C 바카라사이트 media ¡®revelations¡¯ on this point seem ra바카라사이트r overblown,¡± she said.

john.ross@ws-2000.com