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Interference risk damaging bilateral relations in the process. Chinese intelligence officers have been known to use journalistic cover ***.

Finally, in terms of the media, the Chinese authorities have demonstrated a willingness to put pressure on British journalists who are perceived to be acting against China's core interests. For example, in 2018, Victor Mallet, the Asia Editor of the Financial Times, was denied a visa to remain in Hong Kong after meeting with a pro-Hong Kong independence figure.

The Chinese authorities take a strong interest in the political views and activities of the Chinese diaspora overseas. According to Professor Steve Tsang, the CCP uses its influence to make "Chinese communities feel that, if they don't support the Chinese government, they are being unpatriotic. The [Chinese Communist] Party is making the people of Chinese ethnicity great". The UK has a relatively small ethnic Chinese population. According to 2011 census data, the ethnic Chinese population was approximately 430,000—about 0.7% of the total UK population. (By contrast, in 2016 Australia had an ethnic Chinese population of approximately 1.3m, equating to 5.6% of its 23.4m total population.)

Notwithstanding the size of the Chinese population, the JIC Chair told us: "China will be seeking in some cases no doubt to coerce [the Chinese diaspora in the UK], but certainly to encourage [it] to follow a line which is consistent with China's interests." Family ties are often used as leverage in this context. With specific reference to academics, but in a broadly applicable observation, Charles Parton told the Committee: "[The CCP] can put real pressure on people who still have strong ties [to China] because they have relatives [there], or may even return."

It appears that, in 2019, a Chinese national studying for a PhD in a European country was coerced into travelling to a third country, where she was met by individuals who attempted to dissuade her from further engaging in activism activities.

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Nevertheless, at the time of taking evidence, China's influence over its diaspora had not translated directly into any serious influence on electoral politics in the UK. Charles Parton told the Committee that in his view the UK is less susceptible to widespread CCP