The Taoiseach has defended Irish higher education institutions’ engagement with China, rejecting the suggestion that teaching Chinese students represents a security risk.
Speaking in Beijing on the second day of a four-day visit to China, Micheál Martin said the programmes operated in China by Irish third-level colleges was good for the students and institutions in both countries.
“Universities have been involved for quite a long time with universities in China, and the undergraduate programmes don’t in any shape have any security risks attached to them,” he said.
“And the arrangements, from a practical point of view, are of benefit, financially and otherwise, to the Irish universities. But also there’s no great sensitive research in the context of security issues or anything like that.”
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Thirteen Irish third-level institutions operate 110 joint programmes with colleges in China that involve Irish lecturers teaching on Chinese campuses. The joint programmes award degrees and diplomas that are recognised both in China and in Ireland.
Last month, in an anonymous briefing to the Sunday Times, a senior figure in the Irish Military Intelligence Service suggested that Irish academic links to China could pose a security risk.
“It can be hugely detrimental to the West if you empower them by educating them simply because they come to a university with funds. This can be hugely detrimental to the West if you teach them how to twist a knot to the left or right, which helps them to develop a weapon or military application,” the intelligence officer told the newspaper.
The Taoiseach received full ceremonial honours with a military guard and band at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday when he met Premier Li Qiang. Earlier, he met Zhao Leji, the chairman of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature.
During his meetings in Beijing, starting with President Xi Jinping, the Taoiseach discussed the relationship between the European Union and China, which is under pressure due to trade tensions and Beijing’s diplomatic support for Russia.
He said he was open to China’s suggestion of a new framework for the EU-China relationship but said it was for the European Commission and EU member states to determine how to proceed.
“It’s logical at some stage that the European Union and China will have to resolve trading issues, just like we have with the United States, for example, where there were very significant issues at the beginning of last year,” he said.
“Likewise, issues have emerged in terms of rare minerals, in terms of EVs, in terms of agricultural products, and we’ve experienced that. So the articulation yesterday was one that Europe should and China should engage with a view to trying to resolve it within a broader framework.”
