Stockholm, Sweden

Over thirty Chinese doctoral students were made to sign an agreement pledging their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) before reaching Sweden to pursue their higher studies. Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published a report last week citing the documents it obtained. The paper stated that nearly three dozen students signed letters before travelling to Sweden.

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The doctoral candidates made their way to Sweden's reputed Lund University through the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) run by China's Ministry of Education. The scholarship council supports international exchange with other universities worldwide. 

ALSO WATCH | Report: Chinese students made to sign ‘loyalty pledges' to CCP before going to Sweden

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The report by Swedish paper said that the doctoral students were also made to sign an allegiance letter saying that they will "serve the interests of the regime" and "never participate in activities that go against the will of the authorities".

Families back home used as bargaining chip: Report

The report said that the families of doctoral candidates in Sweden too may be part of the allegiance agreement. If the students fail to honour the postulations of the allegiance documents, their families back home in China could find themselves in "financial debt to the state".

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Furthermore, the family members were purportedly made to sign a contract making them liable for damages if the doctoral candidates enrolled in Sweden do not complete their education. The guarantor of the student is not allowed to leave China for a long duration of time while the student is studying abroad.

How the matter came to light?

The issue came to light after a Chinese student at Sweden's Lund University was told to not continue his education due to his poor academic performance. The student then became worried and said that the decision would result in problems for his family back home.

After the incident, Lund University reportedly asked another student at the school for their documents and found that they also had the same letters from the Chinese government with them.

Reports about the letters started to spread, and other Swedish universities began checking their students’ documents soon after. Some of the universities named in the report include Karolinska Institute, Uppsala University and the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

"There are uncertainties, for example what is meant by going against the interests of the Chinese state," said Bob Harris, vice chancellor for research studies at the Karolinska Institute, one of Sweden’s top universities that regularly admits over 30 Chinese students through Chinese government's scholarship scheme.

"For the time being we have decided not to admit more research students via CSC," he stated.

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