This event is exclusive to Friends of Tortoise
The West has invested a lot in engagement with China. But in our attempt to build a closer relationship with one of the world’s largest economies, have we given away more than we realised? Maybe Western institutions weren’t assertive enough about their values, or perhaps the profit motive was too strong, but it looks like we got the wrong end of the bargain as China’s Communist Party exerts a greater influence in the UK.
From the City’s financial institutions to the UK’s top universities, how much self-censorship takes place when it comes to China and the influence of its government? When is it activated and when do we become aware of it? Why are we sensitive to it in some parts and what are our blind spots? What does our relationship with China and its influence in the UK say about the tensions in our democracy between free speech and free market?
editor and invited experts
Poppy Sebag-Montefiore
Journalist and Reporter on ‘Hollywood’s cultural revolution’, Tortoise
Isabel Hilton OBE
Journalist and Broadcaster, reporting extensively from China and Hong Kong
Mark Wheatley
Common Councilman for Dowgate, City of London