A Chinese teacher who claims she has been blacklisted from teaching in Scottish schools is taking Stirling Council to an industrial tribunal.
Rong Rong MacLeod refuses to stay silent on her country’s human rights atrocities – and is warning the country’s education system is being influenced from afar.
Whistleblowing teacher Mrs MacLeod was one of the first to teach Mandarin in Scotland after settling in Stirlingshire more than 20 years ago.
She left China to work in the textile industry but moved into education, teaching commercial language at Strathclyde University for 10 years.
Stirlingshire teacher summoned to ‘tense’ meeting with Chinese government
Mrs MacLeod, 63, taught at both Falkirk and Forth Valley Colleges before becoming a General Teaching Council-registered school teacher working in several Stirling primary and secondary schools.
But she says her career faltered after she was called to a “sinister” meeting with a Chinese government official just before Covid-19 struck.
Speaking to The Sunday Post, she said: “I was taken aback by the summons to meet with the Chinese government official.
“During a tense meeting, he told me China had not forgotten my protest over the Tiananmen Square massacre. Then he said, ‘we are watching you’.
“I had been so distraught by what happened at Tiananmen, I had attended protests and resigned membership of the Chinese Communist Party.
“China keeps a vice-like hold, even on those of us who have left the country, so I recognised the veiled sinister threat when I heard it.
“Family details were mentioned so I was in no doubt that I really was being watched.
“Afterwards, I realised I was no longer receiving as many calls to work as a support teacher or even as a teaching assistant in Stirling.
“I was being replaced by teachers from the Confucius Institutes, which are ultimately paid for by China.
“I believe I have been blacklisted by my own country because I refuse to ignore their past human rights abuses of not only Tiananmen, but also in Tibet and their treatment of the Uyghur people.
“I’m concerned Scotland may not be as aware as it should be over the influence China has gained through organisations such as the Confucius Institutes.”
Teacher taking Stirling Council to industrial tribunal after job rejection
In the wake of the Prince Andrew Chinese spy scandal, Mrs MacLeod’s claim has sparked a call for action from Sir Iain Duncan Smith, head of the UK Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.
He wants the immediate closure of the four Chinese state-sponsored Confucius Institutes set up in Scottish universities as well as the dozens of Confucius classroom hubs servicing primary and secondary schools, funded mostly by Beijing to promote language and culture, as well as the influential Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS).
Mrs MacLeod decided to take action after failing to get an interview for a permanent teaching post at a secondary school in Stirling.
She said: “When I applied, I was told the job had already been filled. I was told the Confucius Institute pays part of that salary to Stirling Council and they had put forward someone for the post.
“As a native Mandarin speaker with all my experience, I was superbly qualified to take that position.”
The mother-of-two is married to Hector MacLeod, 73, who spent many years working in Hong Kong as a lawyer.
He said: “From my own experience, I know that those who do not toe the party line are simply disappeared.
“It’s obviously much harder for the Chinese to do that here, but they do find other ways of silencing anyone who refuses to cover up their human rights atrocities.”
Mrs MacLeod is now in the process of taking Stirling Council to an industrial tribunal.
Mandarin teacher fears Chinese ‘censorship’ in Scottish schools
She said: “I fear the Confucius Institutes and classroom hubs are unduly influencing what is being taught in Scotland.
“I believe, because of their power and the funding behind these Confucius organisations, only teachers who promote the party line and CCP propaganda are being employed in preference to others like me who want the truth to be taught.
“It is unacceptable to teach Scottish schoolchildren only what the Chinese Communist Party approves of. That is censorship.
“I’ve played at many functions and Chinese New Year celebrations and, until the intervention of the official from China, the schools where I’ve taught have been welcoming and appreciative to experience our authentic culture.”
Duncan Smith warned that the proliferation of Confucius Institutes and educational hubs across Scotland was “a threat”.
“The Scottish Government, indeed any government that does not recognise these organisations are a threat, is naive,” he said.
“These organisations should be closed down, as other countries are doing.
“China uses them to spy on dissidents and Chinese students here, reporting back what they say and do as well as reporting on what we are doing.”
Stirling Council and Scottish Government respond to Chinese influence claims
The Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government provides the university with an annual grant to support modern languages learning in schools, which includes support to Mandarin learning and the CISS programmes.
“Teachers of Mandarin are recruited by local authorities following the same process as any other teachers.
“Local authorities can apply for funding towards these posts if they choose.
“Schools and teachers are responsible for curriculum development, which follows the Curriculum for Excellence framework – this provides learning according to the values and standards of teaching in Scotland.”
Stirling Council said: “We receive funding from the CISS to contribute to the pay of one teacher at one of the Confucius hubs in our schools.
“The hubs help our young people learn about Chinese culture and language, broadening horizons and increase cultural awareness.
“Teachers working the hub use materials developed by Scotland’s National Centre for Languages.
“We do not comment on individual employees.”
The Courier previously revealed Fife businessman Alistair Michie’s links to alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
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