China syndromeCan Anonymous Classrooms Protect Students from Beijing’s Snooping?

By Adrianna Zhang

Published 27 August 2020

With many American universities holding online courses this semester because of the pandemic, faculty members at Princeton, Harvard and other elite schools are looking for ways to protect the privacy and identity of students logging in from Hong Kong and China, where they are subject to China’s repressive rules on self-expression.  

With many American universities holding online courses this semester because of the pandemic, faculty members at Princeton, Harvard and other elite schools are looking for ways to protect the privacy and identity of students logging in from Hong Kong and China, where they are subject to China’s repressive rules on self-expression.  

The Hong Kong National Security Law that passed in June allows Chinese authorities to prosecute any foreign institution, organization or individuals, regardless of their location, if they are involved in any action deemed to be a crime. Legal scholars say the law opens the door for a wide range of political prosecutions.  

Samuel Chu, a Chinese American originally from Hong Kong, could be one of the first prosecuted. He faces an arrest warrant after he lobbied the U.S. Congress to punish China for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy. 

Faculty members at several top universities want to protect those taking their courses from ending up in a similar position. They are proposing options for students who may be concerned about being punished for their personal views.  

In a recently published article, faculty from Harvard University, Princeton University, Amherst College, Syracuse University and Texas University at Austin proposed allowing students to opt out of class discussions without affecting their grades and enabling students to participate anonymously in virtual classroom discussions.    

“Warning Labels”
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that a professor at the University of Pennsylvania is considering incorporating “warning labels” for potentially sensitive information into the class syllabus. 

The moves are raising concerns that China’s new expansive security laws are eroding academic freedom in the United States.   

“I think it is very troubling that they would, for instance, place warning labels on classes that Beijing might consider sensitive,” said Christopher Balding, an associate professor at Fulbright University Vietnam who also taught in China for nine years. 

“That is indicative of a creepy censorship by Beijing. Even if it’s not explicit, even if it is not mandated by law, it is very clearly indicative of the influence that Beijing censorship is having in the United States,” Balding said.  

Aaron Ach, a member of the Princeton class of 2019, wrote a thesis on China’s foreign policy. He told VOA that that open conversations with his Chinese classmates were vital to his work.