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Varsity “sorry” over degree row

LONDON: A leading British university, nervous at the prospect of losing full fee-paying Chinese students, has been forced to say sorry to Beijing following protests in China after it awarded an honorary degree to the Dalai Lama.

The London Metropolitan University, which has a large number of Chinese students, said on Wednesday its Vice-Chancellor Brian Roper met Chinese officials recently and expressed “regret” over the issue.

The Vice-Chancellor sought to assure them that it was not the university’s intention to cause any “unhappiness”.

In a statement, the university said: “The Vice-Chancellor ….met with representatives of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the U.K. During that meeting, he expressed regret at any unhappiness that had been caused to Chinese people by the recent award of an honorary doctorate to the Dalai Lama. It was not the university’s intention to cause any such unhappiness.”

The degree was awarded to the Dalai Lama during his visit to the U.K. in May sparking widespread criticism in the Chinese media and academic community. Chinese students reportedly threatened to boycott the university which has been actively soliciting applications from China and has an office in Beijing.

Like other overseas students from outside the European Union, Chinese students pay full fee, which is many times more than what domestic students pay, and are therefore much sought after by Britain’s cash-strapped universities.

A spokesperson for the university, however, clarified that its expression of regret did not amount to an apology as suggested in media reports. “We have not and will not be apologising for the award . Nor will we be retracting the award,” she told The Hindu.

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