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Huang Jing has denied the allegations, which he describes as “nonsense”. Photo: AFP

Chinese-American academic loses appeal against Singapore expulsion

Huang Jing is accused of being an ‘agent of influence’ and will have to leave the city state with his wife ‘within a stipulated grace period’

Singapore

A prominent Chinese-born academic has lost an appeal against Singapore’s decision to expel him for allegedly being an “agent of influence” for a foreign government, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

Huang Jing – a US citizen who worked at leading postgraduate school the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – and his wife were stripped of their Singapore permanent residency status on August 4.

Authorities accused him of working as “an agent of influence of a foreign country”, and trying to use his prominent position to influence Singapore’s foreign policy.

His wife was accused of being aware of his activities.

Huang Jing was director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Photo: AFP

They did not say which government he was accused of working for but the scholar has written extensively on China and regularly contributed to state-run media.

Huang and his wife appealed the government’s move but the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday it had rejected their challenge.

Huang told the South China Morning Post he was not surprised that the appeal was rejected.

“I will go back to North Virginia for a rest before planning the next step,” he said.

The pair “will have to leave Singapore within a stipulated grace period”, a ministry statement said, adding both will be permanently banned from coming back to the city state.

It did not say how long the grace period was.

After news broke of the Singapore government’s decision to revoke his permanent residency status, Huang told the Post the allegations against him were “nonsense”.

Huang’s case comes at a time Singapore and China’s historically warm ties are being tested.

There were tensions earlier this year when Hong Kong seized nine Singapore armoured troop carriers as they returned to the city state after conducting military exercises in Taiwan.

Additional reporting by Kristin Huang

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Accused academic loses appeal against expulsion
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