HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020508.jpg
1.77 MB
Extraction Summary
4
People
5
Organizations
4
Locations
1
Events
2
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Government report / house oversight document
File Size:
1.77 MB
Summary
This document appears to be page 49 of a House Oversight report detailing censorship and surveillance tactics employed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against American scholars and academic institutions. It outlines specific restrictions including the vetting of conference materials, internet restrictions, physical surveillance by security services, and the censorship of digital archives like CNKI. It notes that American universities pay significant fees for these now-censored databases and that research into regions like Tibet and Xinjiang is effectively blocked. While the prompt references Epstein, this specific page focuses entirely on Sino-US academic relations and censorship.
People (4)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| American scholars | Academic Researchers |
Subject to monitoring, following, and censorship by PRC security services.
|
| Foreign authors | Writers |
Pressured to censor Chinese-language editions of their books.
|
| American professors | Academics |
Cannot work in restricted areas or advise students to do so due to safety risks.
|
| Graduate students | Students |
Advised against working on subjects in restricted regions due to career and safety risks.
|
Organizations (5)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| State Press & Publishing Administration |
Insists on censorship of Chinese-language editions of foreign books.
|
|
| China National Knowledge Infrastructure |
Censors online archives by deleting articles the government wishes to remove from the historical record.
|
|
| American universities |
Pay for access to CNKI databases; disposing of paper copies relying on digital archives.
|
|
| PRC Government |
Influences Chinese studies via controls over key regions and censorship.
|
|
| Security services |
Monitors and follows American scholars in China.
|
Timeline (1 events)
Ongoing
Locations (4)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location where restrictions, monitoring, and censorship occur.
|
|
|
Location where scholarly conferences are held that are subject to influence; location of American universities.
|
|
|
Minority area subject to controls and restrictions.
|
|
|
Minority area subject to controls and restrictions.
|
Relationships (2)
Universities pay tens of thousands annually for database access.
Government monitors and restricts the scholars.
Key Quotes (4)
"Monitoring, even following, some American scholars by security services while in China."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020508.jpg
Quote #1
"CNKI in particular is now 'curating' its catalogs and holdings by deleting articles the current government appears not to wish to see remaining in the historical record."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020508.jpg
Quote #2
"American professors cannot themselves work in these areas, nor can they in good conscience advise their graduate students to work on these subjects"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020508.jpg
Quote #3
"This amounts to PRC distorting the historical record, not just for China but for the entire world."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020508.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,630 characters)
49
• Attempts to control the agendas, participant name lists, what is written, and
what is said at joint scholarly conferences held in China, and now sometimes
even in the United States. (A recent technique is to require that a talk or paper
by an American participant in a Chinese organized event be handed over to the
organizing group for vetting well before the event itself, so a participant can be
disinvited, if necessary.)
what is said at joint scholarly conferences held in China, and now sometimes
even in the United States. (A recent technique is to require that a talk or paper
by an American participant in a Chinese organized event be handed over to the
organizing group for vetting well before the event itself, so a participant can be
disinvited, if necessary.)
• Restriction of internet and email communications when in China.
• Monitoring, even following, some American scholars by security services while
in China.
in China.
• Demands for censorship by foreign publishers of their digital content as a
condition for allowing it to be made available online in China.
condition for allowing it to be made available online in China.
• Insistence on censorship of Chinese-language editions of foreign books by the
State Press & Publishing Administration. This places foreign authors in the
difficult position of having to acquiesce to such censorship in order to have
translations of their books published in China.
State Press & Publishing Administration. This places foreign authors in the
difficult position of having to acquiesce to such censorship in order to have
translations of their books published in China.
• Censorship of online archives of PRC journals and publications, such as
the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. American
universities each pay tens of thousands of dollars annually for access to these
electronic databases. However, recent research has shown that CNKI in particular
is now “curating” its catalogs and holdings by deleting articles the current
government appears not to wish to see remaining in the historical record.42 Since
American universities have started to dispose of paper copies of many of the
journals carried in CNKI (China National Knowledge Information) periodical
index, this amounts to PRC distorting the historical record, not just for China
but for the entire world.
the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. American
universities each pay tens of thousands of dollars annually for access to these
electronic databases. However, recent research has shown that CNKI in particular
is now “curating” its catalogs and holdings by deleting articles the current
government appears not to wish to see remaining in the historical record.42 Since
American universities have started to dispose of paper copies of many of the
journals carried in CNKI (China National Knowledge Information) periodical
index, this amounts to PRC distorting the historical record, not just for China
but for the entire world.
In addition to these specific restrictions affecting American scholars, the PRC
government also influences the field of Chinese studies in the United States (and
elsewhere) via controls over key regions of their country (especially minority areas
such as Tibet and Xinjiang) and by putting no-go zones around a wide variety of
research subjects within the broader areas of politics, religion, ethnography, and civil
society that cannot be researched in-country. As a result, American professors cannot
themselves work in these areas, nor can they in good conscience advise their graduate
students to work on these subjects either because of risk to the researcher’s career, as
well as to the human subjects whom researchers would be observing or interviewing.
Such restrictions have real consequences for the open future of Chinese studies around
the world.
government also influences the field of Chinese studies in the United States (and
elsewhere) via controls over key regions of their country (especially minority areas
such as Tibet and Xinjiang) and by putting no-go zones around a wide variety of
research subjects within the broader areas of politics, religion, ethnography, and civil
society that cannot be researched in-country. As a result, American professors cannot
themselves work in these areas, nor can they in good conscience advise their graduate
students to work on these subjects either because of risk to the researcher’s career, as
well as to the human subjects whom researchers would be observing or interviewing.
Such restrictions have real consequences for the open future of Chinese studies around
the world.
Section 4
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020508
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