1/x Important article, worth reading in full. WHO IS the “important person” at Harvard who called trying to silence this brave Chinese dissident? The following are 100% verbatim quotes from the Harvard Crimson: “He told me to cancel the talk....”https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/4/23/harvard-china-scrutiny/ …
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7/x “But over the past decade, China’s global influence has grown dramatically. In 2010, China became the world’s second-largest economy; in 2018, it surpassed the U.S. in terms of scientific papers published. Escalating tensions have accompanied this shift in global power....”
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8/x “...threatening to compromise Harvard and China’s special relationship: Xi has cracked down on dissent both within and outside of China’s borders, and the FBI has launched numerous investigations into alleged Chinese industrial and academic ‘espionage,’ including one...”
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9/x “into undisclosed Chinese funding sent to...former Chem Dept Chair, Charles Lieber. As the geopolitical & academic balance shifts in China’s favor, the Teng Biao incident may indicate that, at least in some instances, HARVARD DEPENDS MORE ON CHINA THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND.”
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10/x “‘Western institutions, think tanks, universities, they don’t want to anger the Chinese government because they want to keep a good relationship with their Chinese counterparts,’ Teng says.”
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11/x “And, given Harvard’s status in the international academic hierarchy, Chinese authorities may be particularly interested in the University. ‘We’ve had Chinese citizens at Harvard, who are clearly doing the bidding of the Chinese state, coming and sitting in on talks...’”
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12/x “‘...and taking notes and reporting back,’ Perry says. She similarly suspects Chinese citizens of reporting on visiting Chinese scholars’ activities.”
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13/x “What is clear is that even if Teng Biao was the victim of a one-time exception at Harvard, the cancellation is not exceptional but rather a flashpoint in the evolving relationship between Chinese and American universities, between the Chinese and American governments....”
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14/x “There may be a history of Harvard-China collaboration, as well as a history of universities acting as safety valves during tense geopolitical moments — but the nexus of racialist U.S. rhetoric, rising authoritarianism under President Xi & shifting global power dynamics...”
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15/x “...between the world’s two superpowers has no historical precedent. Harvard’s prestige may have once served as a backstop for the long arm, but the defense now seems partial at best. And if one such incident occurred at the University, it opens the possibility for more.”
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16/x “The censorship, the self-censorship, is EVERYWHERE,” Teng says.
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End of conversation
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