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.
Sheffield Hallam caved under pressure
As pressure mounted, the university tried to distance itself from the research. In late 2024, amid pressure from China and a separate defamation lawsuit, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish Professor Murphy’s final report. By early 2025, administrators ordered her to stop all research on forced labor in Chinese supply chains.
Professor Murphy’s unit was shuttered, her research team was laid off, and outstanding funding returned. She claimed the university negotiated with a foreign intelligence service, sacrificing her academic freedom for access to the Chinese student market. The general secretary of the University and College Union, Jo Grady, warned:
It is incredibly worrying that Sheffield Hallam appears to have attempted to silence its own professor on behalf of a foreign government … Given the censorship Hallam has seemingly engaged in, it now needs to set out how it will ensure its academics will be supported to research freely and protected from overreach by foreign powers.
After Professor Murphy filed legal action, she uncovered internal documents confirming the extent of the foreign pressure. Her case cited the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which legally obliges UK universities to protect academic freedom and freedom of speech for their staff. Her solicitors argued that vague fears about staff safety or insurance cannot justify restricting lawful research.
A broader threat looms
Upon learning of the case, the then Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned China that the UK would not tolerate efforts to suppress academic freedom at its universities.
Though Sheffield Hallam has now apologized and reinstated her right to continue the work, the case highlights a broader threat. Professor Murphy warns:
As long as the university system in the UK is so wildly underfunded as it is now, universities will be vulnerable to attacks like this.
As governments and universities navigate complex international relationships, one principle must hold: academic freedom cannot be traded away. Freedom of speech is essential to exposing exploitation and holding powerful institutions accountable.
We must continue to expose the truth about forced labor. Stand with researchers and Uyghur communities. Call on the Chinese government to free Uyghurs from forced labor.
Freedom United is interested in hearing from our community and welcomes relevant, informed comments, advice, and insights that advance the conversation around our campaigns and advocacy. We value inclusivity and respect within our community. To be approved, your comments should be civil.