Professor at Emory University seeks legal support amid US probe into academics’ ties to China
- Yu Shan Ping says he was asked by his medical school in Atlanta, Georgia to vacate his office by the end of June
- Academic says he is concerned after two of his colleagues were sacked last month
A professor of Chinese ethnicity at an American university is seeking legal advice amid an investigation by the FBI and other organisations aimed at exposing Chinese influence in US state-funded science and research that last month led to the sacking of two of his colleagues.
Yu Shan Ping is a professor of anaesthesiology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he has worked since 2008. Despite being tenured, he said he was recently asked by his medical school to vacate his office by the end of June and told that the university planned to move his research laboratory.
“I’m looking for legal help and welcome any recommendations,” he told the South China Morning Post. “My plan will depend on what the school does next.”
His comments came amid a nationwide inquiry into the links “Chinese” academics working in the United States might have to Beijing, an inquiry that has sparked criticism from universities that say it has created a climate of fear.
In March, Yu and several of his colleagues wrote to Emory University president Claire Sterk, urging her to join the heads of University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University in condemning the targeting of faculty over their ties to China.
“We noticed that disturbing views and activities seen at UC Berkeley and Stanford also exist on Emory campus, which negatively derides Emory faculty members and international visitors, especially those of Chinese origin,” the letter said, a copy of which was seen by the Post.
The couple were targeted in connection with an investigation by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the primary agency of the US government responsible for biomedical and public health research.
Emory reported last month sharing with the NIH that two of its faculty members, whom it did not name, had “failed to fully disclose foreign sources of research funding and the extent of their work for research institutions and universities in China”.
The Lis’ identities – both of whom are naturalised US citizens – was later revealed on the Chinese science and education media platform Zhishi Fenzi.
Emory spokesman Vincent Dollard told Science magazine this week that the university’s actions regarding Yu were in accordance with standard procedure.
“The medical school is actively working on different options for Dr Yu’s office and lab space,” he said.
The United States has stepped up its scrutiny of Chinese academics amid growing suspicion about their possible links to Beijing and its state-owned enterprises. The latest investigation has led to the resignation of several scientists at the NIH.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that American researcher Xu Xifeng left her post at the Centre for Translational and Public Health Genomics at the University of Texas in January following a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the NIH into whether she had supported cancer research projects in China.
US Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the committee that oversees the NIH, has led the effort to expose Chinese influence in US state-funded science and research.
This week, he and Republican Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services asking it to review payments made to US entities by the Chinese government or Chinese companies.
