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UCD's Confucius Institute. Google Streetview

Professor resigns from managerial role over UCD's 'pathetic' statement on Ukraine invasion

Professor Ben Tonra said UCD issued a “mealy-mouthed” statement because of its relationship with China.

A UCD PROFESSOR has resigned with immediate effect from a part-time managerial role at the Dublin university over its statement about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Professor of International Relations Ben Tonra told The Journal that University College Dublin’s statement was “pathetic” and “mealy-mouthed”, and that it contrasted strongly with the responses of other universities to the invasion of Ukraine. 

In recent days, the Provost of Trinity College Linda Doyle said that she was “utterly appalled” at the “brutal invasion” of Ukraine; Dublin City University President Daire Keogh said DCU condemned the “unjustifiable aggression” against Ukraine; while UCC condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and said students and staff would gather today at 5pm to show its support.

UCD released a statement last night which said that it “joins the Irish Government and wider society in its concern with the situation in Ukraine, and in particular with the violation of international law and the unnecessary and tragic human suffering and loss of life”.

Last night, Tonra tweeted his surprise at the phrase “the situation in Ukraine”, and said he was “deeply, profoundly ashamed”.

He announced today on Twitter that he would resign from his role as the Vice Principal for Internationalisation and Global Engagement at the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law, but would remain a full professor of international relations.

Speaking to The Journal today, Tonra said that UCD’s response was “pathetic”.

“If you compare and contrast the statements of Trinity, DCU and UCC, there’s clear blue water between their statements and UCD’s. It’s an extraordinary weak and mealy-mouthed statement.

The reason for that weakness is because if the university issued a stronger statement, they’re anxious it might come back to bite them in relation to the Confucius Institute and Chinese studies.

Commentators have said China will be watching Russia’s invasion of Ukraine closely, as it may influence what it does in relation to Taiwan. It could embolden China to invade Taiwan, for example, which it has long claimed as its own and used its armed forces to intimidate, or it may be wary of invading due to the strength of the sanctions directed at Russia. 

“That links the two together,” Tonra said of the Ukrainian invasion and UCD’s Confucius Institute.

China’s Confucius Institutes aim to increase ties between countries and China by allowing students in different countries to learn the Chinese language and culture – UCD’s was established in 2006. They have been criticised as serving an ulterior motive for the one-party Chinese state as “soft power projection through education”, as well as other academic concerns.

UCC has had a Confucius Institute since 2007; in 2019, NUI Galway signed an agreement to establish a Confucius Institute for Chinese and Regenerative Medicine.

Tonra said that the search for funding for third-level institutions is leading to morals and values of academic institutions being compromised.

The pursuit of overseas funding and overseas partnerships is why a great university like UCD would leave its values to the side. All Irish universities are underfunded, meaning managers are having to turn everything into an income stream: students and partners become an income stream.

He said that UCD initially issued a statement of concern for “students who are affected” by the invasion of Ukraine, but said that “when they were pushed to say more about it, they gave the statement we saw.”

The UCD Student’s Union President Ruairí Power said in a statement that UCD’s statement on Ukraine was “soft” in comparison to other third-level institutions, and that describing “a full-scale invasion as a ‘situation’ was particularly misguided”.

When it was raised that there have been other conflicts around the world that have not prompted statements of condemnation from universities, Tonra said “I could have a conversation with you for two hours about why that is the case.”

“It’s the geographic proximity [of the Ukraine invasion], the scale, the immediacy, and the egregious nature of it: a nuclear superpower is invading a neighbouring country because it doesn’t like its government.” 

He said that no one is expecting universities to become political commentators on global events, but that this was particularly “egregious” and “blatantly black and white”.

“There really isn’t any other complexity,” he said. 

Tonra acknowledged that he is in an “incredibly privileged position” that he is able to resign from “a part-time management role” that he took up two years ago to support UCD’s global strategy, and that he still has a full-time position at the university.

“It’s not insubstantial” either, he added. “A small amount of money” given to replace his teaching hours may need to be refunded, but that has yet to be worked out.

“There are fantastic people who work in UCD Global for the students, but the university as a whole needs to reflect where we are. I would like a conversation on why we’re on this path. 

“I think there needs to be a conversation about it. My colleagues here are fantastic, but it is the relationship with the Chinese government which is hugely problematic, in principal and in practice.”

UCD has been contacted for comment. 

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19 Comments
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    Mute Crocodylus Pontifex
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    Mar 1st 2022, 3:31 PM

    Come on students of UCD, don’t tell us you have forgotten what a full scale student protest is

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    Mute Jonathan O'Riordan
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    Mar 1st 2022, 3:37 PM

    @Crocodylus Pontifex: normally you can’t prevent them marching- not one to the Chinese embassy in last two years Spend some time with us at Orwell Road too

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    Mute Jonathan O'Riordan
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    Mar 1st 2022, 3:36 PM

    Good man Ben- proud of you.

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    Mute Bopper Bops Holland
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    Mar 1st 2022, 3:55 PM

    @Jonathan O’Riordan: he resigned from one position

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    Mute Bopper Bops Holland
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    Mar 1st 2022, 3:57 PM

    @Bopper Bops Holland: and a part time one at that

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    Mute Jonathan O'Riordan
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    Mar 1st 2022, 5:23 PM

    @Bopper Bops Holland: so he is still making a point, more than most

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    Mute Alan Leahy
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    Mar 1st 2022, 4:04 PM

    Does his resignation come with a pay cut or is it the same pay package, now with less responsibility?

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    Mute Tony Harris
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    Mar 1st 2022, 4:36 PM

    @Alan Leahy: Might it be a mealy mouthed resignation?

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    Mute diarmuid
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    Mar 1st 2022, 5:45 PM

    You might mention that he’s a director of the Irish Defence and Security Association, a lobby group for the arms industry in Ireland.

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    Mute Jonathan O'Riordan
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    Mar 1st 2022, 8:30 PM

    @diarmuid: don’t see the relevance, but glad to hear that Ireland is making €38m off software and technology as an industry. If not us then it would be someone else

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    Mute Fergus Quinlan
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    Mar 1st 2022, 5:56 PM

    The western media have won the day….war has come in one door as truth and reason fled out the other..NATO…who have worked hard for this moment …wine and dine with the arms salesmen…

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    Mute Jim Monaghan
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    Mar 1st 2022, 4:55 PM

    Russia treats Ukraine in the same way the USA treats Cuba. It is the equivalent of Ireland to Russia. The invasion has to be opposed. Putin’s war of aggression has damaged us all. Aside for economic consequences, it could lead to a world war.

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    Mute Roger Bond
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    Mar 1st 2022, 6:35 PM

    @Jim Monaghan: Do you remember the Cuba crisis where America threatened Nuclear war if Russia didn’t get out of Cuba.
    Russia now doesn’t want NATO, US with bases in Ukraine.

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    Mute Disco Inferno
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    Mar 1st 2022, 6:39 PM

    @Roger Bond: that’s because the USSR had placed and threatened to place, nuclear arms facilities on thr Island of cuba, so its not the same, not by a long shot

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    Mute Ivan Connolly
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    Mar 1st 2022, 8:45 PM

    @Disco Inferno: the USSR was placing nuclear weapons in Cuba because the US had placed them in Turkey. So it was tit for tat only the US weren’t going to have any tat and instead threatened all out war. Russia’s anxiety regarding Ukraines potential membership of NATO is that the US will place missile systems, which they have already placed in other NATO countries, which are capable of neutralising Russia’s nuclear deterrent and therefore unbalancing the MAD status quo. Their reasoning is sound but their actions are appalling. But the world has a history of powerful countries acting appallingly simply because they can. There are other countries with whom we are closely aligned who have acted in the exact same manner but do not receive our condemnation. The wests hypocrisy is also appalling

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    Mute Colm O'Leary
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    Mar 2nd 2022, 6:44 AM

    @Roger Bond: do you? Remember the Cuban missile crisis or is it something you’ve just read about in your schoolbooks so you “know” about it! History is different if you’ve lived through it to what shows up in books 40 or 50 years later when the hindsight is 20/20 and everyone has died….

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    Mute Gerard Collins
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    Mar 1st 2022, 4:59 PM

    Delores Cahill!?

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