U of Manitoba warns faculty about China travel . . .
In a memo circulated yesterday, the University of Manitoba recommended its faculty limit travel to China in light of an RCMP investigation of two ethnically Chinese microbiology scientists over a possible “policy breach.” One of the researchers, Qiu Xiangguo, was a non-salaried adjunct professor at the university and a top-level immunologist who won the 2018 Governor General’s Innovation Award for her work on Ebola treatment and vaccines. The university’s travel advice came two days after the university cut ties with Qiu and her husband, the other researcher under investigation.
Tough time for Chinese scientists . . .
Amid the escalating trade war, concerns have been growing, including in the U.S., Australia, and Canada, over alleged misconduct by ethnically Chinese scientists. A report in the journal Nature states that at least five Chinese scientists have been dismissed from U.S. research institutes in recent times. The dismissal of a growing number of Chinese scientists in the U.S. is fuelling fears that Chinese researchers are being unfairly targeted and these practices could amount to racial profiling.
A new level of distrust . . .
Growing fears in Canadian research institutes about Chinese scientists signifies that Canada-China tensions have reached a new level of distrust. As the bilateral political standoff continues, Canadian research institutions should strive to balance legitimate concerns with academic openness.
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