Commentary There is a genuine fear that Chinese spies are monitoring a number of British universities’ online seminars. These spies are monitoring lectures and debates, according to Mark McLaughlin, a contributor to The Times UK. Any individuals who dare to discuss “censored political content” find themselves the target of Beijing-approved operatives. Many Chinese students, unable to travel to Britain because of pandemic-related travel restrictions, are left with little option but to log into lectures “using virtual private networks (VPNs) run by Alibaba,” wrote McLaughlin. Alibaba has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Considering China is engaged in a new cold war with the United States, Beijing’s desire to monitor conversations, especially those of highly sensitive, geopolitical nature, make sense. With a genocidal campaign occurring in Xinjiang and citizens of Tibet being terrorized, one cannot discuss politics and human rights without discussing China. But such discussions, especially for Chinese citizens, come with significant costs. …