University has faced scrutiny for funding American colleges
A Chinese university which faced scrutiny for its ties to American colleges has hired a former Harvard University chemist convicted of hiding his connections to the country.
As reported by The Harvard Crimson, Charles Lieber “started his new role at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, where he now holds the school’s highest faculty rank, in Shenzhen, China, on April 28.”
Lieber received two days in prison, six months house arrest, and a fine for hiding Chinese government affiliations and a $50,000 monthly salary and quietly retired from Harvard in 2023, as The College Fix previously reported.
“The former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was sentenced…in federal court in Boston for lying to federal authorities about his affiliation with People’s Republic of China’s Thousand Talents Program and the Wuhan University of Technology,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, wrote in a new release at the time.
Lieber “was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served (two days) in prison; two years of supervised release with six months of home confinement; a fine of $50,000; and $33,600 in restitution to the IRS,” the release stated.
University of California Berkeley recently cut ties with the Tsinghua Shenzhen university following concerns about the “risks and benefits posed by foreign engagement,” as The Fix previously reported.
The Crimson reported further on Lieber’s crimes:
He was arrested on Harvard’s campus in 2020 and charged with making false statements about his involvement with [Thousand Talents Program]. Immediately following his arrest, the University placed Lieber on paid administrative leave and replaced him as chair of the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department.
Lieber’s conviction marked a high-profile victory for the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, a controversial series of prosecutions launched in 2018 under the first Trump administration that attempted to crack down on alleged intellectual property theft perpetrated by China. The initiative was shuttered in 2022 amid allegations that it targeted individuals of Chinese descent and strayed from its initial goals.
Lieber is considered a “nanoscience pioneer,” according to Chemistry World.
MORE: Trump says he will follow through on removing Harvard’s tax exempt status
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: The Chinese flag is pictured; Daniel V. Fung/Getty Images
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