A Cambridge academic who has benefited from close links to China cautioned against debating the plight of the Uighur Muslims on campus, warning it would not help “mutual understanding”. Professor Peter Nolan, a fellow at Jesus College, advised colleagues to avoid contentious debates on China’s human rights record, claiming that “all countries” with ethnic minorities faced similar issues to China and that his college risked being “perceived as being a campaigning college for freedom for Hong Kong, freedom for the Uighurs” if it held overtly anti-China events, but at the same time claimed a more balance debate would lead to a “very, very contentious outcome”, which would be unhelpful”. SponsoredNolan’s comments will risk compounding fears that Chinese influence is compromising the independence of Britain’s leading

Source: The Times June 05, 2021 17:02 UTC