China, France
Paris refuses visa for Chinese researcher with ties to Ministry of State Security

Intelligence Online understands that France has refused to issue a visa to Hu Shisheng,  who heads the Institute of South Asian Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), and who was due to take part in a seminar on Tibet organised by the Académie de Géopolitique de Paris on 20 September. The seminar drew controversy because it used the Chinese term XiZang to designate Tibet  (IO, 03/01/24).

Paris did however, grant visas to four other members of the delegation due to speak at the seminar. These were Zha Luo, head of the delegation and vice-secretary-general of the China Tibetology Research Center; Zhang Shigao, director of the Institute of Contemporary Studies at the China Tibetology Research Center; Penba Lhamu, vice-director of the editorial board of the scientific journal South Asian Studies at the influential think tank Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS, IO, 09/03/23); and Xu Shuang, assistant professor at the Human Rights Institute of the Chinese University of Political Science and Law.

Beijing under increased scrutiny 

Hu Shisheng was forced to stay in Beijing, and his affiliation with the CICIR was a key factor in the rejection of his visa application. The CICIR is one of Beijing's oldest and most influential institutes for international research studies, which reports directly to the Ministry of State Security (MSE or Guoanbu) and is supervised by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

This latest visa refusal shows that the French intelligence services are paying closer attention to Beijing and are trying to keep analysts attached to research centres in the orbit of the Chinese intelligence services away from Paris. Hu Shisheng's situation comes on the heels of the case revealed by Intelligence Online of a Chinese researcher who was due to join the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers (ENSAM) in Paris, (IO, 23/09/24) but also had his visa refused.

It also comes at a time when the CCP is refining its propaganda strategy by seeking to organise an increasing number of seminars on sensitive subjects in France.

The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs's communication department did not respond to our request for further details about this visa refusal.