Hungary's plans for Chinese university campus spark intense backlash

Beijing-friendly PM reels amid 70% opposition to facility on donated land

Demonstrators in Budapest protest against the construction of a planned campus of Shanghai-based Fudan University. The placard on the left reads, "We will not become a colony!" © AP

RINTARO HOSOKAWA, Nikkei staff writer

June 19, 2021 16:31 JST

VIENNA -- Plans for a Chinese university to build a satellite campus on donated riverfront land in Budapest have sparked protests and threaten to derail Prime Minister Viktor Orban's pro-Beijing agenda in a country that has maintained strong ties with China.

Hungary's parliament on Tuesday approved the donation of the state-owned land in the capital, where Shanghai-based Fudan University plans to build a new campus. The location is due to open by 2024.