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Belgian judges overturn ban on Chinese Confucius Institute professor accused of spying
- Eight-year bar from entering Europe’s visa-free area ‘not valid’ but no ruling made on validity of espionage claims
- Song Xinning denied accusations of recruiting for Chinese intelligence while head of controversial institute in Brussels
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A Chinese professor accused of espionage has won his case against a Belgian order which barred him from the European Union’s visa-free Schengen Area for eight years.
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Song Xinning had just completed his tenure as head of a Confucius Institute in Brussels when he was accused last year by Belgium’s state security service of conducting espionage activities and his visa was cancelled, effectively denying him entry to 26 European countries.
A judgment handed down by Belgium’s Council for Alien Law Litigation found in Song’s favour on a procedural technicality. It made no ruling on the validity of the espionage claims.
Julien Hardy, Song’s lawyer, said his client could now apply for a visa but it was possible he would be charged with spying if he entered Belgium, although any case would need stronger evidence than so far provided by the authorities. Hardy said the evidence provided to the hearing was “short in length and vague”.
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Song, 65, was head of the Beijing-funded Confucius Institute at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) from February 2016 to July 2019. His case was one of the most high profile controversies related to the institutes – officially intended to promote Chinese language and culture – which have been facing direct and public accusations of espionage in Europe following repeated warnings from the US.
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