A view of Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, the US, Aug 1, 2014. [Photo/IC]
The decision by a prestigious university in the United States to terminate the tenures of two Chinese-American professors has heightened concerns among researchers and administrators at academic institutions.
One of the professors, Li Xiaojiang, a veteran neuroscientist at the Department of Human Genetics at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, who had worked there for 23 years, issued a statement on the decision to Science magazine.
Li said he was "shocked that Emory University would terminate a tenured professor in such an unusual and abrupt fashion and close our combined lab consisting of a number of graduates and postdoctoral trainees without giving me specific details for the reasons behind my termination".
The private university said in a statement that the decision came after an investigation by the institution prompted by a National Institutes of Health inquiry.
It said the inquiry revealed that two of its faculty members named as key personnel on NIH grant awards to the university had failed to fully disclose foreign sources of funding and the extent of their work for institutions and universities in China.
Although the university did not name the former faculty members, Science magazine identified them as Li and his wife, Li Shihua, both professors of biology and also US citizens.
According to Li's statement, the university fired the couple on May 16 when they were traveling in China. It also closed a laboratory jointly led by the couple and told four Chinese postdoctoral students who worked there to leave the US within 30 days.
The action came after the NIH, the main funding source for biomedical and public health research in the US, sent a letter to more than 10,000 academic research institutions in August urging them to work with it and other agencies, including the FBI, to crack down on foreign influence.
Recipients of US federal funds must disclose if they are also receiving funds from other countries, and they are not permitted to share their grant applications with foreign entities.
Last month, NIH Director Francis Collins told a Senate committee that the agency was investigating NIH-funded foreign scientists at more than 55 US institutions, according to Science magazine.
Li said he had disclosed his Chinese research activity to Emory University each year since 2012, adding that he had provided documents requested by the university during the investigation.
He also said he had not received any copy of the investigation that was sent to the NIH by the university, although he had asked Emory for one.
US media reports said the NIH alleged the couple had also been hired for positions in China, where they received funding to create shadow laboratories to conduct the same research they were doing in the US.
The couple said they felt their case was part of a larger problem with the way foreigners are treated in the US, adding that the university's action "negatively derides Emory faculty members and international visitors, especially those of Chinese origin".
They urged the university's president to issue a statement to "recognize the contributions of Emory's diverse global community, and the innumerable benefits to science, research and education locally and globally".
The university said in a statement that it "remains committed to the free exchange of ideas and research and to our vital collaborations with researchers from around the world. At the same time, Emory also takes very seriously its obligation to be a good steward of federal research dollars and to ensure compliance with all funding disclosure and other requirements".
'Extremely hazardous'
Huang Yasheng, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said: "From my perspective, there shouldn't be national boundaries in academia. Sharing of knowledge and cooperation between scientific researchers of different backgrounds are often key contributors to significant academic accomplishments.
"US academic institutions should definitely act against the Trump administration's 'clash of civilizations' view, and protect the human rights and academic freedoms of any scientists — including Chinese-American ones."
Calling the US administration's view of Chinese academics "extremely hazardous", Huang noted the significance of international, especially Chinese scholars and researchers, in US academia.
He said that, for example, the National Academy of Science this year elected two scientists of Chinese nationality as members and two as foreign associates. Overall, more than 100 Chinese nationals have been elected academy members.
Huang said membership of the academy is just the tip of the iceberg regarding Chinese scientists' presence in US academia. At MIT, some 40 percent of the faculty is non-US nationals, with Chinese constituting the largest proportion.
"I do believe that the US government has the responsibility and obligation to protect the nation's security and interest, but as far as I'm concerned, in no case are Chinese scientists clearly affecting US national security, so far."
He said the central questions in recent cases related to Chinese scholars are most likely technical issues such as the disclosure of research funding sources, which are not rare cases in academia, certainly not among Chinese scholars.
Huang added, "Chinese scholars have made great contributions to US academia and are inseparable from it."
A recent open letter coauthored by 18 scientists from the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America, the Chinese American Hematologist and Oncologist Network and the Chinese Biological Investigators Society expressed concerns about the recent political rhetoric and policies that "single out students and scholars of Chinese descent working in the US as threats to the US".
The letter added, "These developments have led to confusion, fear and frustration among these highly dedicated professionals, who are in danger of being singled out for scapegoating, stereotyping and racial profiling."
Open data access and data sharing are important for accelerating research advancement and can be implemented without putting US security at risk, the group said, adding, "Most Chinese-American scientists believe that biomedical research benefits all mankind, and multinational collaborations accelerate scientific progress and discovery."
Jiang Ying, a researcher at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences in Beijing, said, "This is probably not the first time that a US research institute has ousted Chinese or Chinese-American researchers or shut down their laboratories, but it is hard to comment on this matter at the moment or judge who is responsible for it.
"In the area of medical research, we still hope to have multiple centers that involve different races. We need cooperation like this because science is a human community, so cooperation should be promoted. The intrusion of politics will hinder the development of science."
Kang Ruiqing, a researcher from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, said the current policies of the US "are not doing any good to scientific cooperation".
"Scientists in both countries should not be scapegoats for the ups and downs in the two countries' relationship," Kang said.
Yale University President Peter Salovey said in an open letter sent to students and faculty, "In recent weeks, tensions in United States-China relations and increased scrutiny of academic exchanges have added to a sense of unease among many international students and scholars here at Yale and at universities across the country."
Salovey affirmed his university's "steadfast commitment" to its foreign talent and added, "Openness — a key to the extraordinary success of America's great research universities — must remain a hallmark of Yale."
Frank H. Wu, chairman of the Committee of 100, an organization of Chinese-Americans, said, "Scientific progress has long been based on the open exchange of ideas," adding that the "recent changes of norms in the US" have surprised many Chinese researchers working in the country.
"It's important for all professors from all backgrounds to be aware of these new rules," Wu added.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a briefing in Beijing on Monday that personnel and cultural exchanges "should not be politicized and interfered with".
"This is inconsistent with the aspirations of the two peoples and has caused widespread concern among academic circles in China and the United States, and all sectors of society," Lu said.
Reviews banned
In another development, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in New York has banned employees at Chinese communications company Huawei from reviewing submissions to its journals because of US government sanctions against the company.
Zhang Haixia, a professor at Peking University and a member of the institute for 20 years, said she has submitted a letter to resign her membership after learning of the ban.
"Politics should stay out of academia. No matter what country (German-born physicist) Albert Einstein is from, his scientific research can benefit the whole world," Zhang said.
If politics keeps interfering with academic research, there will be no scientific progress, she said, adding, "When scientists face all kinds of restrictions in their research, they are not doing research. They become politicians."
Shi Yunli, professor of science history at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, said scientists have become scapegoats for tensions between countries in the past, notably during the 1950s when US senator Joseph McCarthy ordered a series of investigations and hearings in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of the government.
Wang Yu, a material technology scientist and president of Shanghai Yuking Water Soluble Material Tech, which sells its products to medicine producers in more than 100 countries, said the US needs cooperation and support from China in many areas of science, for example chemistry and material technology.
"The US has been bringing many foreign scientists, from China, India and other countries, to work in laboratories and carry out research, and the fruits of their work are eventually transformed into products," he said.
"The US has talent from around the globe, and makes the greatest input into scientific research. It is way ahead of China in scientific development generally, and there is a gap of two or three decades in certain areas.
"But in some specific areas, such as certain sectors of biomedicine and material technology, China has an advantage, and the US has to learn from China. The two countries need to cooperate while they compete in science."
Kong Wenzheng in New York, May Zhou in Houston, Lia Zhu in San Francisco, Pan Mengqi and Zou Shuo in Beijing, Zhou Wenting in Shanghai and Zhu Lixin in Hefei contributed to this story.
Reviews banned
In another development, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in New York has banned employees at Chinese communications company Huawei from reviewing submissions to its journals because of US government sanctions against the company.
Zhang Haixia, a professor at Peking University and a member of the institute for 20 years, said she has submitted a letter to resign her membership after learning of the ban.
"Politics should stay out of academia. No matter what country (German-born physicist) Albert Einstein is from, his scientific research can benefit the whole world," Zhang said.
If politics keeps interfering with academic research, there will be no scientific progress, she said, adding, "When scientists face all kinds of restrictions in their research, they are not doing research. They become politicians."
Shi Yunli, professor of science history at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, said scientists have become scapegoats for tensions between countries in the past, notably during the 1950s when US senator Joseph McCarthy ordered a series of investigations and hearings in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of the government.
Wang Yu, a material technology scientist and president of Shanghai Yuking Water Soluble Material Tech, which sells its products to medicine producers in more than 100 countries, said the US needs cooperation and support from China in many areas of science, for example chemistry and material technology.
"The US has been bringing many foreign scientists, from China, India and other countries, to work in laboratories and carry out research, and the fruits of their work are eventually transformed into products," he said.
"The US has talent from around the globe, and makes the greatest input into scientific research. It is way ahead of China in scientific development generally, and there is a gap of two or three decades in certain areas.
"But in some specific areas, such as certain sectors of biomedicine and material technology, China has an advantage, and the US has to learn from China. The two countries need to cooperate while they compete in science."
Kong Wenzheng in New York, May Zhou in Houston, Lia Zhu in San Francisco, Pan Mengqi and Zou Shuo in Beijing, Zhou Wenting in Shanghai and Zhu Lixin in Hefei contributed to this story.
