US economist Jeffrey Sachs retreats from Twitter after criticising US’ treatment of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou
- Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs closes Twitter account after his opinions prompt partisan exchanges across the US and China
- Sachs is accused on the social media platform of being in thrall to China after asking why the US didn’t treat American executives the same way
Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs closed his Twitter account last week after his criticism of the US’ extradition request for senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou drew a firestorm of criticism in North America.
The latest Sachs controversy highlighted the polarisation of public opinion in the two countries as China and the United States on Monday marked the 40th anniversary of normalisation of relations with little public fanfare.
While presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump had reportedly exchanged official congratulations on the anniversary, former US president Jimmy Carter wrote on the anniversary in The Washington Post that “a modern cold war … is not inconceivable” if Beijing and Washington took an adversarial view of each other.
Sachs, an economist, published his story, “The War on Huawei”, through syndication in international media on December 11, saying the Trump administration was unfairly targeting the executive, also known as Sabrina Meng and Cathy Meng, for alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran.
Meng was detained by Canadian authorities last month at the request of the US government, a move that sparked a protest from Beijing.