Correspondence regarding Confucius Institutes: FOI release

Information requested

Please share any internal and external communications relating to concerns regarding the influence or actions of Chinese state actors in Scotland which have occurred since September 2022.

Concerns may include – but not be limited to – risks posed by Confucius Institutes in Scottish universities, potential threats to Scottish/UK security, the targeting of students, the monitoring of Chinese expats, or the vetting of Chinese expats [originally “Experts”], by the Chinese state and comms regarding Chinese secret police stations.

Please include all communications made since 1 September 2022. Please include all forms of communications – including Whatsapp – as well any attachments, including images.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.

Some of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish parliament website as they are answers to Parliamentary Questions, from news outlets the information found was press cuttings and media lines utilised in the public domain, the UK Government website as they relate to UK strategies such as the CONTEST strategy and the UK Parliament website as they were reports published by that place. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copies.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption(s) under sections 26(a) - Disclosure prohibited: enactment; 28 - Substantial prejudice to UK relations; 29(1)(b) - Ministerial communications; 29(1)(c) - Advice by Law Officers; 30(c) - Substantial prejudice to effective conduct of public affair; and 38(1)(b) - Third party personal data of FOISA applies to that information.

Exemptions under sections 26(a) and 38(1)(b) are not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

The other exemptions that apply are subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because information relates to national security and the alleged actions of foreign states in the UK. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining open dialogue on reserved matters, especially those relating to national security, with the UK government in order to maintain the security of the UK.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202300381825 - Information released - Annex

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21 page PDF

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519.9 kB