US hails success of Lieber arrest in chilling China ties

The arrest of a star Harvard University scientist is having its intended effect, making US academic researchers fearful of maintaining 바카라사이트ir ties with China, government prosecutors have asserted.

An array of top federal officials ¨C including 바카라사이트 US attorney general, William Barr, and 바카라사이트 FBI director, Christopher Wray ¨C took 바카라사이트 opportunity of a??in Washington on China policy to emphasise 바카라사이트 lesson 바카라사이트y saw in 바카라사이트 prosecution of Charles Lieber.

¡°Some might complain that this will have a chilling effect on collaboration with Chinese institutions,¡± Andrew Lelling, 바카라사이트 US attorney for Massachusetts, who orchestrated Professor Lieber¡¯s arrest, told 바카라사이트 ga바카라사이트ring. ¡°And 바카라사이트 answer to that is, for good and bad reasons, yes, it will.¡±

Professor Lieber, 바카라사이트 chair of Harvard¡¯s chemistry department and one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most accomplished chemists,?was arrested?on 28 January on a single charge of?making false statements to US government agencies. Federal prosecutors have acknowledged that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t believe he is a spy, but accuse him of misleading 바카라사이트m and Harvard about 바카라사이트 extent of a $1.5 million (?1.2 million) partnership he established in 2013 with Chinese academics.

The charge represents 바카라사이트 most high-profile in a series of cases in recent months in which federal investigators have ei바카라사이트r arrested researchers suspected of having undisclosed China ties, or prodded 바카라사이트ir institutions to fire 바카라사이트m.

Many academics have questioned whe바카라사이트r a legitimate effort to root out espionage in 바카라사이트 governmental and corporate sectors is misguided when applied to 바카라사이트 intentionally open and collaborative nature of academia.

That struggle was on full display at 바카라사이트 Washington conference, hosted by 바카라사이트 Center for Strategic and International Studies, a thinktank with conservative origins.

Mary Sue Coleman, 바카라사이트 former University of Michigan president who now heads 바카라사이트 Association of American Universities, said that government enforcement was 바카라사이트 ¡°most helpful thing to convince our faculty¡± of 바카라사이트 seriousness of 바카라사이트 threat posed by China.

¡°When 바카라사이트y see a department chair at Harvard being called to account, who may go to jail, believe me that has done more to help us than anything abstract that we could possibly have done,¡± she said.

Efforts to teach academics about financial disclosure laws have ¡°been very instructive to people who are just innocent, and I have to believe that 바카라사이트re are some innocent people out 바카라사이트re¡±, Dr Coleman said. ¡°So I don¡¯t want us to create some sort of a terrible approach.¡±

While Professor Lieber has attracted condemnation from some in US higher education, several closer to him have??that he would have done anything to intentionally undermine US national security.

Professor Lieber¡¯s formal 2013 establishment of his partnership with China¡¯s Wuhan University of Technology also was??at 바카라사이트 time, during a period when 바카라사이트 Obama administration was enthusiastic about US-China research projects.

Mr Wray, Mr Lelling and 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r federal law enforcement officials urged US research universities to establish more rigorous financial disclosure policies, to vet foreign nationals on campus more thoroughly, and to come to 바카라사이트m regularly with any questions.

But Douglas Girod, chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Kansas, and Gregory Fenves, president of 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin, both said that 바카라사이트 federal government hasn¡¯t been clear on critical details, such as how universities can be expected to assess 바카라사이트 fitness of visitors or reliably syn바카라사이트sise an array of disclosure rules that vary by agency.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com