Cambridge University Press criticised in Beijing censorship row

Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the oldest publisher in the world Credit: Ian Jones

Cambridge University Press (CUP) has been criticised for placing “profit” above academic freedom after blocking access to more than 300 articles at the request of the Chinese Government.

The oldest publisher in the world, CUP has removed online papers covering a range of topics disliked by Beijing, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet and human rights.

The editor of The China Quarterly, the publication which carried the articles, said he had not been consulted about the censorship and urged CUP to push back against the Chinese authorities.

But CUP has suggested it had little choice but to block the individual articles for its Chinese readers or face the removal of its entire portfolio.

The publisher conceded it had responded to demands from Beijing, but pledged not to “proactively” censor its contents in future.

It is understood, however, that CUP has also voluntarily removed 1,000 ebooks from its site.

The China Quarterly editor Tim Pringle expressed “deep concern and disappointment” over the censorship.

“We note too that this restriction of academic freedom is not an isolated move but an extension of policies that have narrowed the space for public engagement and discussion across Chinese society,” he said.

President Xi Jinping
President Xi Jinping takes a hard line against dissent Credit: AFP

Mr Pringle told The Sunday Telegraph: “My job is not to hang CUP out to dry,” but added: “I would urge CUP to take a very strong line on the issue of censorship.

Experts said they feared the move was part of a wider crackdown on academia within China by President Xi Jinping, part of a campaign against dissent also targeting lawyers and journalists.

Louisa Lim, author of The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, said CUP’s actions showed “the profit motive being valued over academic freedom”.

A CUP spokesman said: “Freedom of thought and expression underpin what we as publishers believe in, yet Cambridge University Press and all international publishers face the challenge of censorship.

“We can confirm that we received an instruction from a Chinese import agency to block individual articles from The China Quarterly within China.

“We complied with this initial request to remove individual articles, to ensure that other academic and educational materials we publish remain available to researchers and educators in this market.”

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