Ted CruzVerified account

3/x “The administrator told him hosting an event with two Chinese dissidents only days after a historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then University President Drew G. Faust would ‘embarrass’ Harvard, Teng recalls.”

4/x “The second phone call, on March 10, was a formal and final warning. The powerful person called Teng to his office and told him the event would embarrass the University and potentially threaten the continuation of collaborative programs and joint research with China.”

5/x “That powerful person also made Teng promise to keep the cancellation a secret, and at the time Teng told almost nobody. Chen was particularly struck by this self-censorship.”

6/x “Though the Harvard-China relationship always entailed mutual benefit, it was for decades asymmetrical — China needed Harvard more than Harvard needed China, which perhaps gave the University more leeway to be critical of the Chinese government.”

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....”

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...”

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.”

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.”