Chinese students linked with PLA leaving the UK after spy chiefs’ warning
New Delhi: The head of MI5 in a speech about the espionage threat posed by Beijing said, “Fifty Chinese students have left the UK in the past three years after Britain tightened its procedures to prevent the theft of sensitive academic research. A particular focus on Chinese state activity was western universities and after a reform of the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), over 50 students linked to the People’s Liberation Army (China Army) had left the UK,”
The scheme, run by the British government, applies to international students from China and other countries subject to immigration control, who want to engage in research on military technology or other subjects deemed to be sensitive.
The reputation of China has spoiled immensely as the Beijing government makes disputes with all countries – including India, the US, and the UK. “MI5 had more than doubled its effort against Chinese activity over the same timeframe, as part of an unprecedented joint warning with his counterpart at the FBI. The most game-changing challenge MI5 faced came from an increasingly authoritarian Chinese Communist Party that was heavily targeting industrial secrets and intellectual property across the west,” the spy chief added.
The spy chief did not provide further details about the Chinese students who had left, a fraction of the 150,000 that study in the UK, but it formed part of a wider warning about Beijing’s espionage activities aimed primarily at universities, military and hi-tech businesses, and related organizations.
(Vinayak)
