US EditionSheffield Hallam Ends Uyghur Forced Labour Research Amid China Pressure
Sheffield Hallam University reversed its 2025 halt on Uyghur forced labour research after legal action and threats from Chinese security targeting staff and website access.
- China waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against Sheffield Hallam University in the UK to stop research into alleged human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
- After pressure from China, including threats to staff in China and blocking access to the university's websites, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish research by Professor Laura Murphy on forced labor in Xinjiang.
- The UK government warned China that it would not tolerate attempts to suppress academic freedom at British universities after learning of the case.
22 Articles
22 Articles
U.K. University Apologizes to U.S. Scholar Over Publication Ban
Curtailment of Laura Murphy’s research into alleged forced labor practices in China raises further questions over foreign government interference on U.K. campuses. Sheffield Hallam University has apologized to a professor whose research into alleged human rights abuses was blocked from publication after political pressure from the Chinese security services.
Sheffield Hallam University, in northern England, is at the heart of a diplomatic scandal with China. An investigation by the BBC and the Guardian reveals that, under pressure from Beijing, the university suspended the research of Laura Murphy, a specialist in modern slavery, but especially internationally recognized for his research on forced labour of Uighurs in China. Research that Beijing considers as anti-Chinese propaganda.
UK university caved to China pressure over Xinjiang forced labour research, professor says
A UK university halted research into forced labour in China following pressure from Beijing, a professor who has spearheaded the work and successfully fought the move said Monday. Sheffield Hallam University. Photo: Sheffield Hallam University, via Facebook. Laura Murphy, recognised globally for her academic work on contemporary slavery, hired human rights lawyers to fight Sheffield Hallam University’s decision to curtail her research and forced…
Chinese Government Threatens Academic Freedom in the UK
Click to expand Image Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK, June 20, 2022. © 2022 BCDS/Wikimedia Sheffield Hallam University in England terminated a project about Uyghur forced labor after Chinese state security officers reportedly interrogated a staff member in Beijing and a Chinese company named in a report filed a defamation lawsuit in the United Kingdom. The project was led by Laura Murphy, a professor of human rights and modern slav…
Assessing the Impact of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act After Three Years
As the third anniversary of the passage of the UFLPA approaches, a look at the act shows an enormous impact on trade, as well as on Americans’ confidence that they are not selling or buying goods linked to atrocities committed against the people of Xinjiang.
Evening Standard
UK university halted forced labour research after China pressure, lawyers claim
Leigh Day Solicitors said documents from Sheffield Hallam University suggested it had banned Professor Laura Murphy from continuing her research.
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