Academics and contributors dismayed after hundreds of CUP articles in China Quarterly become inaccessible in country
Cambridge University Press has blocked readers in China from accessing hundreds of academic articles – including some published decades ago – after a request by Chinese authorities, arguing that it did so to avoid its other publications from being barred.
The publisher confirmed that hundreds of articles in China Quarterly, a respected scholarly journal, would be inaccessible within China, after a letter from the journal’s editor protesting against the move was published.
“We can confirm that we received an instruction from a Chinese import agency to block individual articles from China Quarterly from within China, ” CUP said. “We complied with this initial request to remove individual articles, to ensure that other academic and educational material we publish remains available to researchers and educators in this market.”
The decision was greeted with dismay by academics and contributors to the journal.
“We are shocked by Cambridge University Press’s decision to comply with requests for censorship, ” a group of authors, including Anna Ahlers, a professor in modern Chinese politics and society at the University of Oslo, wrote in an open letter. “Hopefully CUP will reverse its policy and insist on academic freedom even if Chinese authorities do not.”
The decision marks a more aggressive turn by Chinese authorities, which in the past have blocked access to international news, often through its “great firewall” that restricts internet traffic.
