Chinese students in Israel asked to monitor local media

Chinese students studying in Israel were asked by their government to gather information on local media, part of a wider trend of the Chinese Communist Party attempting to use its citizens abroad as proxies.

On several campuses in Israel, students were asked by a party official to observe how the Beijing Winter Olympics was being covered by the Israeli press, the Jerusalem Post reported.

A researcher on Israel-China diplomacy described efforts by the Chinese government to influence its reputation in Israel – but did so only anonymously for fear of retaliation. Chinese officials offered an all-expenses-paid trip to the Olympic Games and requested that Beijing friendly articles on the Olympics be placed in Israeli media, the researcher said.

Other academics declined to comment, due to a concern that they may be cut off from their Chinese peers if they are seen to be critical of their country's government.

In recent years as China has grown more affluent, its students have increasingly traveled abroad to study – particularly to the US, UK and Australia.

Prior to the COVID pandemic there were around 1,000 Chinese students in Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off in the first week of February.