Oxford University in the UK Receives 1 Billion Won, Adds 'Zhong Tencent' to Endowed Program Name

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] The University of Oxford in the UK is facing controversy after receiving money from China's largest internet company, Tencent, and including Tencent's name in the title of a prestigious professorship program.

According to The Times on the 9th (local time), Tencent donated ?700,000 (approximately 1.08 billion KRW) to Oxford University, and Oxford decided to rename the famous physics professorship program 'Wykeham' to 'Tencent-Wykeham.'

The Wykeham professorship was established in 1900. It was named after Bishop William of Wykeham, who founded New College within Oxford University in 1379. The Times pointed out that "the deal between Oxford University and Tencent is evidence of the increasingly close relationship between British universities and Chinese companies." The Times also reported the previous day that over 200 scholars from British universities are under investigation for allegedly unintentionally assisting the Chinese government in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.

The Office for Students (OfS), the UK's higher education regulator, announced it will crack down on links between British universities and China. The OfS stated, "While we respect the free exchange of academic ideas, we must take responsibility as guardians of cutting-edge technology and secrets."

Tencent operates the mobile messenger 'WeChat' and its market capitalization nearly reached $1 trillion last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.