"Unmet Duty of Western Universities in China to Uphold Human Rights", 10 Apr 2017

The growing presence of Western universities in China alongside an apparent government crackdown on the human rights community raises the issue of the universities’ corporate social responsibility. The baseline global standards on business and human rights are clearly stated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights… The definition of "business enterprise”  in the Guiding Principles is broad; universities fall within the definition…they should adopt no less a principled position on human rights than for-profit entities…

27 Western institutions have set up branch campuses on the mainland…What is the corporate social responsibility of U.S. universities in these circumstances? The Guiding Principles provide a framework…but it does not appear the universities are following it.

…None of the foreign universities make such a commitment on their websites describing the China campuses…A due diligence process would identify the endorsement risk and offer ways to reduce it -- perhaps by means of a statement on the universities’ website to the effect that they are not endorsing the policies of their business partner…[T]he universities should cover topics and indicators of how the institutions identify and address harmful human rights impacts. No university has formally reported on China.

…Western universities are operating in a high risk environment without guidance. Supporters of the Chinese campuses say they offer benefits, including greater academic freedom than allowed in domestic universities. But there are costs with cooperating closely with a government that critics say is persecuting the human rights community…