Australia’s Human Rights Commission has called for an energetic defence of free speech and academic freedom in the wake of heated controversy over the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on the country’s universities.
Australian Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said that the country’s universities had a rich tradition of promoting free speech and free thinking. ‘This legacy must be rigorously defended, especially whenever our academics and students come under threat for peacefully expressing their views,’ he said.
He called for a free speech code to be instituted at Australian universities.
Australian universities host large numbers of students from China, which provides a major source of revenue. But the Chinese Communist Party has been accused of using this to influence them. Some Chinese students and China’s diplomats have been accused to pressuring universities to censure people expressing uncomplimentary views about China. Students from China and Hong Kong are reportedly particularly afraid to express dissenting opinions about China for fear of repercussions against them or their families.
Australian institutions, in turn, have been accused of caving into these demands and acting against critics of China. The Daily Friend reported on the case of University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou last month.
[Picture: palg1305, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39082460]