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A student’s visa has been cancelled for links to ‘weapons of mass destruction’. What’s going on with Australian research security?
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Magazine article
A student’s visa has been cancelled for links to ‘weapons of mass destruction’. What’s going on with Australian research security?
The Conversation
15/05/2024
Metrics
62 Record Views
Abstract
Over the weekend, Queensland University of Technology PhD student Xiaolong Zhu became national news – and not for a good reason. Zhu is a Chinese citizen, and his visa to study in Australia has been denied on the grounds of being “directly or indirectly associated with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”.
The story begins in October 2019, when the university offered Zhu a scholarship to undertake a PhD in robotics. His research would focus on how drones navigate in urban environments without access to GPS.
But in June 2020, Zhu was told the foreign minister had ruled him a risk of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, specifically missiles and rockets. That decision may be in part motivated by Zhu’s prior education at Beihang University, an institution closely aligned with China’s military and a lead developer of ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft.
Details
- Title
- A student’s visa has been cancelled for links to ‘weapons of mass destruction’. What’s going on with Australian research security?
- Creators
- Brendan Walker-Munro - Southern Cross University, Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Publication Details
- The Conversation
- Publisher
- The Conversation Media Group Ltd
- Identifiers
- 991013201113502368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Magazine article