Taiwan imposes sanctions on seven Chinese universities over national security concerns

Taiwan has imposed sanctions on seven universities linked to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology due to concerns over national security, according to Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao, Taipei Times reported.

He said that Taiwanese universities and research institutions have been prohibited from participating in any academic activities or exchanges with these seven Chinese universities to protect technology vital to national security interests, Taipei Times reported. Since 2020, students and researchers from the US have been restricted from studying or working at these universities.

Dubbed the “seven sons of [China’s] national defense,” Chinese Ministry of National Defence had founded the universities before they were transferred to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Cheng said.

The seven universities include Beihang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Harbin Engineering University, as noted by Taipei Times.

According to Cheng, these universities are significantly engaged in the development of Chinese military equipment, aviation, telecommunications, chemicals, and material sciences, thus serving the goals of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its “united front” initiatives.

Taiwan does not acknowledge academic qualifications issued by the PLA-operated National University of Defense Technology, Naval Medical University, and Air Force University, even though they are part of Beijing’s Project 985 and Project 211, which are intended to enhance academic quality, as cited by the Taipei Times report.

“Sometimes individuals make erroneous decisions due to a lack of information; the Ministry of Education combats this by providing information online and through career counseling in high schools,” Taipei Times quoted Cheng as saying.

He said that Taiwan’s Education Ministry is committed to taking all necessary actions to ensure that both students and parents are well-informed before making decisions about their educational paths.

In order to stop the technology theft, the US Department of Justice and US Department of Commerce had sanctioned 18 universities, including the “seven sons,” in 2018 and 2020. The FBI has consistently maintained that Beijing orchestrates efforts for academics and scientists to study and teach in the US to gain access to sensitive technologies or information.