Largest China Studies Centre Funded by CCP-Linked Namesake Donor: Report

Photo of 1,000 Hong Kong dollar banknotes on March 19, 2007. Mike Clarke/AFP via Getty Images

The largest China studies centre in the UK is almost solely funded by a donor involved in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) united front work, a report said on Monday.

Around 99.9 percent of the funding for the influential Lau China Institute (LCI) at King’s College London (KCL) came from Hong Kong billionaire Lau Mingwai, whose surname the institute adopted following his initial donation of £6 million, according to information obtained by charity UK–China Transparency (UKCT) via Freedom of Information requests.

The report detailed Mr. Lau’s link with united front work—the CCP’s effort to rally the support of political and non-political groups in and out of China—and with the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which is an arm of the CCP that oversees the implementation of the strategy.

UKCT highlighted an award given to the institute’s Director Kerry Brown by a Chinese state think tank, and published a now-deleted donor report in which Mr. Brown touted the institute’s ability to impact on “the shape and direction of policy and overall public discourse about China” in the UK, Europe, and beyond, and thanked Mr. Lau for enabling the work with his support.

UKCT also said it’s challenging KCL’s refusal to release information about whether there were strings attached to Mr. Lau’s donations at the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber).

In a statement provided to UKCT and emailed to The Epoch Times, KCL said all its institutes “operate completely independently from donors, who have no influence over the focus of any research undertaken by the institutes.”

Almost £11 Million From Single Donor

According to information released to UKCT, by September 2022, LCI had received a total of £10.6 billion from “Donor #1,” including a £6 million “endowment to create the Lau Chinese Institute,” while a second donor contributed £7,416.

KCL did not name the private donors, saying it would be unfair and unlawful to disclose their identities.

Donor #1’s initial £6 million donation correlates with the Lau family’s donation of the same amount that was widely reported in media at the time, and which resulted in the change of the centre’s name from the China Institute to the Lau China Institute.

According to a 2020 donor report, Mr. Lau’s financial support to LCI was “ongoing.”

UKCT said the university has declined to release information including its due diligence on Mr. Lau, any agreement or MOU signed in relation to his donation, and details of any requests Mr. Lau has made, and that the Information Commissioner’s Office has upheld KCL’s decision.

The charity is now seeking to appeal the case at the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber).

United Front

UKCT listed several formal roles Mr. Lau has been appointed to at Hong Kong government advisory bodies during and prior to his donation.

The appointments, which can be found on Hong Kong government websites, include membership of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council, which is responsible for promoting economic ties with Hong Kong and mainland China, and chairmanship of the Commission of Youth, which sponsored youth programmes that were backed by UFWD.

Mr. Lau was also one of the special invitees who attended the 11th congress of the Sichuan Province Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

“The CPPCC is a formal political advisory body to the Chinese government with national and regional committees. Most of its members are not CCP members and as such the CPPCC is closely connected to the UFWD, which selects non-CCP members and oversees congresses,” UKCT explained.

Donor Report

In the introduction of a 2020 donor report for Mr. Lau, which was briefly published on KCL’s website and later released to UKCT, Mr. Brown, director of LCI, thanked the donor for believing in the institute’s vision, saying none of the its work “would be possible without your support.”

Mr. Brown said throughout the year, LCI had worked with a number of countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and global organisations and events including the G20 summit, Transparency International, the World Bank, and BHP Billiton.

“Through working with key stakeholders in the UK, Europe and China, we are significantly impacting on the shape and direction of policy and overall public discourse about China. None of this would be possible without your support,” he wrote.

UKCT also highlighted an award Mr. Brown had received in 2021 from Chinese regime think tank Guosheng in recognition of his “commitment to unity” in 2020, when the CCP’s relationship with the West began to sour following COVID-19 cover-ups and the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong.

“The award was organised—per the Chinese government think tank that did so—in line with CCP instructions and in order to celebrate those contributing to the ‘construction of a culturally powerful socialist country’ and to ’telling a good story about China and disseminating China’s voice well,'” UKCT wrote.

The charity added that Mr. Brown has been a frequent contributor to Chinese state media.

It also noted that LCI and its members are involved in a range of programmes and research projects, including on topics deemed to be sensitive by the CCP.

In a statement to The Epoch Times, a KCL spokesperson said: “In line with our duty to uphold and protect academic freedom, and as set out in our robust ethical review and gift acceptance policies, all King’s Global Institutes operate completely independently from donors, who have no influence over the focus of any research undertaken by the institutes.

“We are proud of the work of our Global Institutes in bringing together leading academics to critically examine and deliver country-focused research and expertise, that helps shape and inform global understanding.”

Mr. Brown was also approached for comment but did not provide a separate statement.

The report came a week after LCI promoted Mr. Brown’s new book about the history of “deep and long lasting relations” between Britain and China.