A UK university came under a two-year campaign of intimidation aimed at stopping research on Uyghur forced labor. Documents show China used threats, harassment, and digital censorship to pressure Sheffield Hallam University into halting work led by Professor Laura Murphy, a leading scholar on contemporary slavery.

According to BBC, the intimidation began in 2022 after her team published major reports tracing how goods reaching Western markets—including solar panels, textiles, and car parts—may contain inputs linked to forced labor in the Uyghur region in China.

Silencing research
Internal documents obtained by the BBC, show the tactics China used to shut down the research. Reportedly, staff in China were visited by individuals believed to be from the National Security Service. Employees were questioned for hours about ongoing work and warned that research had to cease.

Additionally, access to the university’s websites from China was blocked. The university’s email systems and enrollment pages became inaccessible across China, disrupting the experience of incoming Chinese students. One internal 2024 email revealed the extent of the squeeze:

Attempting to retain the business in China and publication of the research are now untenable bedfellows.

Financial strain added pressure. One university email highlighted concerns about a potential “boycott,” noting Sheffield Hallam had previously earned £3.8 million in a single year from China and Hong Kong. Another document said the situation “undoubtedly had a negative impact on recruitment.”

China has consistently denied all claims of forced labor in the Uyghur region. Officials have repeatedly dismissed independent investigations as “fake” or politically motivated, arguing that the allegations cannot withstand scrutiny. However, recent research indicates that China is now relocating people from the Uyghur region to distant factories in eastern China under a labor transfer scheme, complicating supply chain transparency.

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