China rebukes Norway for expelling Chinese academic
Beijing sharply criticised Norway over the expulsion of a Chinese academic, in the latest diplomatic fracas to roil relations between the two countries.
Beijing yesterday sharply criticised Norway over the expulsion of a Chinese academic, in the latest diplomatic fracas to roil relations between the two countries.
Last month the Norwegian government expelled from the country two staff from the University of Agder, the institution's director Tor Aagedal said, one of them a Chinese mathematician.
Reports said Oslo took the decision over concerns their work could have military applications.
Beijing has protested to Oslo over the case, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, calling the accusation "baseless". It "infringed upon the basic rights of the relevant Chinese scholar" and "damaged the academic image of Norway", he told reporters at a regular briefing, urging Oslo to "protect the rights and interests as well as the academic freedom of the relevant Chinese scholar".
The mainland's own universities are run by the Communist party, which tightly controls discussions of topics it construes as a potential threat to its grip on power and has recently stressed the importance of ideology in higher education.
The dispute is the latest episode in a long-running diplomatic feud that began in 2010 when Beijing halted all high-level contact with Norway after the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo . The Nobel committee is independent of the government, although its members are chosen by the Norwegian parliament.
