Sydney's leading university vice-chancellors have defended themselves against accusations they are susceptible to Chinese political interference | natassiazc
to both the coronavirus pandemic and a "remarkable deterioration" in the Australia-Chinese diplomatic relationship, including "very clear suggestions of [Chinese] political interference in our nation".
"There is no single instance that has been brought to our attention by the intelligence services of there being a problem with the university's engagement with China," Dr Spence said. "If there were, then the university would deal with it. And it would deal with it as an Australian institution with the interests of our own country first."
"The inquiry from the Attorney-General’s department is baffling. And we’ll reply to it, saying it’s kind of baffling," he said."We are not absolutely perfect ... Mr Latham pointed out a particular situation in which we failed," UNSW vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs told the inquiry, referring to the university’s handling of the online posts. "We acknowledge that and learn the lessons from that and we move on.
University of Technology Sydney vice-chancellor Attila Brungs said universities were recognising "the changing geopolitical nature of our world"."We are working with the government to make sure we have the right processes and systems in place to safeguard the independence and the autonomy of our institutions, while not shutting them down," Professor Brungs said.
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