Chinese students at British universities are being offered cash rewards for political loyalty to Beijing through a state-linked mobile app which penalises people for anti-Beijing sentiment, The i Paper can reveal.
The scheme raises fresh concerns about how far Chinese state influence extends onto UK campuses, and the impacts on academic freedom and student safety.
Students are offered cash incentives to attend events organised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), log their locations, share personal academic information and CVs, and invite friends to join the app.
The cash can be used on travel, food and entertainment, and has raised fresh concerns about the monitoring and recruitment of students in Britain by Beijing. Critics say the system creates pressure to conform with the CCP, with the app penalising students who engage in “extreme political” behaviour that “undermines national security”.
One lecturer at a Russell Group university where the app has been rolled out, said a number of their Chinese students had privately aired concerns that they were being spied on by their peers.
The app has been promoted across UK universities by Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) — student community groups that support overseas Chinese students. However, their role has come under renewed scrutiny after a 2023 think-tank report found that some CSSAs operate under guidance from Beijing, pressuring students to counter criticism of the Chinese government and monitor anti-CCP activity on campuses.
The app, which translates to “Study Abroad e-Link”, was developed and launched by a branch of China’s Ministry of Education in 2024.
Points mean prizes from Chinese banks
Available on Apple and Android, the app offers points to Chinese students in the UK to complete tasks. Registering on the app earns 50 points, while “daily location check-ins” wins five points per day, with bonus rewards for consecutive use.
Students can also accumulate points for attending events linked to Chinese-state institutions or affiliated student groups. 500 points are awarded for participating in events run by the Chinese Embassy in the UK. Extra incentives are earned for inviting friends to join the app, adding personal information about your studies and generating a CV.
Once points are received, they can be converted into money through partnerships with Chinese banks and payment systems – including Chinese-state owned Fujian Industrial Bank and UnionPay.
One of the pages of the app which sets out a list of activities and the points a student would get for completing themThe app also imposes strict behavioural rules that mirror CCP political language. Chinese students can lose points for “extreme political or separatist rhetoric” or for “words or deeds that undermine national security and ethnic unity”.
A letter to students who are sponsored by the Chinese government insists that the platform was created purely as an admin tool, for the “efficient completion of tasks”.
Labour peer Lord David Alton argued it represented a “chilling evolution of digital authoritarianism on British soil” and a “direct assault on academic freedom”.
He told The i Paper: “By rewarding students for tracking their peers through state-backed apps, the PRC is operating a ‘pay-for-patriotism’ scheme in the heart of our universities.
“We must move beyond tepid concern and finally censure those CSSAs that act as conduits for CCP coercion. Our campuses must be sanctuaries for scholarship, not outposts for the Ministry of Education.”
‘Monitoring students, punishing dissent’
There is clearly heightened concern about Beijing’s surveillance and political influence within British universities.
Britain’s academic institutions have grown financially dependent on international students, especially those from mainland China. Foreign students from outside the EU paid tuition fees worth £10.9bn in the 2022–23 academic year. The sum is more than a fifth of total university income, with Chinese students making up roughly a quarter of that figure.
This reliance, critics warn, can impact universities’ willingness to confront sensitive issues around Chinese students. Reports of harassment against pro-Hong Kong democracy activists and students speaking out on human rights issues, such as the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, have surfaced in recent years, often linked to peer pressure or organised responses within Chinese student communities.
Sam Dunning, director of the charity UK-China Transparency, urged universities to “stop ignoring Chinese students and engage with this reality”.
He said: “This Chinese government app makes plain the CCP’s desire to monitor students, punish dissent, and facilitate recruitment from the UK into the Chinese military industrial complex.”
A lecturer of politics at a Russell Group university said Chinese students show a “general nervousness” because “they feel like they are being constantly watched and reported”. They repeated that a number of students had privately aired concerns that they are being spied on by their peers.
“They don’t trust anyone so think it’s best to stay silent,” the lecturer claimed. “This impacts their learning but – more importantly impacts the learning of the entire seminar because you have a substantial minority sitting in nervous silence which hardly creates an atmosphere where the rest of the students want to engage and debate.”
UK officials acknowledge concerns about foreign interference
UK Government officials have previously acknowledged concerns about foreign interference in higher education but have stopped short of direct intervention in cases involving students. Universities themselves have emphasised their commitment to free speech, while also highlighting the importance of supporting international students.
A spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in London said claims that the app was a form of surveillance were “completely unfounded”, adding that “the media should not provide a platform for such fact-distorting claims or mislead the public”.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated. The Government has robust measures in place to prevent this activity, including updated powers and offences through the National Security Act.”
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