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

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....