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First Post
13 minutes ago
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Is Harvard training officials from China's Xi Jinping's party?
Harvard University has come under scrutiny for its alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A US House committee led by Republicans has reportedly shot off a letter to the varsity's president, Alan Garber, accusing Harvard Kennedy School of training high-level Chinese government officials. This comes amid the Trump administration's efforts to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students read more A view of Harvard campus on John F. Kennedy Street at Harvard University is pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, December 7, 2023. File Photo/Reuters Harvard University, which is in the crosshairs of the Donald Trump administration in the United States, has come under scrutiny for its ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A report has revealed that Harvard Kennedy School of the prestigious varsity has been accused of partnering with an organisation associated with Xi Jinping's party. The report comes at a time when Harvard University is embroiled in a dispute with the Trump administration, with the US government freezing billions of dollars in federal funds. The US president has also alleged that universities allowed antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But does Harvard really have ties to China's CCP? We will explain. Harvard's ties to CCP A US House of Representatives committee led by Republicans has alleged that Harvard Kennedy School collaborated with an organisation linked to the Chinese Communist Party, as per The Harvard Crimson report. A House Select Committee on the CCP started investigating Harvard University's alleged links to groups affiliated with China's party in May. In a letter to Harvard University President Alan Garber last week, the panel accused Harvard Kennedy School of training high-level Chinese government officials through a 'formal partnership' with the Chinese Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP). 'Under that partnership, the rising CCP elite who are being prepared for senior Communist Party leadership positions participate in training at Harvard in the United States,' Committee chair John R Moolenaar wrote in the letter. The committee asked the university to submit any documents linking Harvard to the CCP and furnish details of any money or benefits received from the CCP. According to Moolenaar, whistleblowers revealed the alleged tie-up between the school and CELAP, a training institution in Shanghai's Pudong district managed and funded by the Chinese government. Feng Jun, executive vice president of CELAP, attended the Harvard Kennedy School's now-defunct programme for senior Chinese officials known as 'China's Leaders in Development", calling HKS a 'model' for the Chinese school, according to Harvard University's student newspaper. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Is Harvard CCP's 'party school'? Many US universities, particularly Harvard, have offered programmes to Chinese officials to study governance. A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report in June found that thousands of mid-career and senior bureaucrats of the CCP have visited the US for executive training and postgraduate studies for decades. Harvard University has been described by some in China as the top 'party school' outside the country. 'If we were to rank the Chinese Communist Party's 'overseas party schools,' the one deserving top spot has to be Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in the US,' said a 2014 commentary published by Shanghai Observer. Some key Chinese officials to have graduated from Harvard Kennedy School are an ex-vice president of China and a top trade negotiator. Li Yuanchao, China's vice president from 2013 to 2018, took part in a mid-career training programme at Harvard Kennedy School in 2002. Several top Chinese officials have attended Harvard Kennedy School. File Photo/AFP Liu He, a retired vice premier, has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School. He was Chinese President Xi Jinping's top trade negotiator during talks with the first Trump administration. Li Hongzhong, currently a Politburo member and senior legislator, attended a short-term programme at Harvard in 1999. Syracuse, Stanford, the University of Maryland and Rutgers have also offered executive training to Chinese officials, WSJ reported, citing publicity materials and other disclosures. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China began sending officials for mid-career training at Harvard Kennedy School in the 1990s. One such programme, launched in 1998, provided fellowships and executive training courses to around 20 senior officials each year. Harvard launched another programme, 'China's Leaders in Development,' in the early 2000s, under which Chinese officials attended a training course, with their time split between Harvard and Beijing's Tsinghua University. As per Harvard, the now-defunct programme was to 'help prepare senior local and central Chinese government officials to more effectively address the ongoing challenges of China's national reforms." Trump's attempts to ban foreign students at Harvard Amid the ongoing standoff, the Trump administration has tried to bar Harvard from enrolling international students and prevent foreigners from entering the US to study at the elite varsity. However, both efforts were temporarily blocked by a court. Last month, the US State Department said that it launched an investigation into Harvard University's compliance with the government-run visa programme for international students. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the State Department would analyse Harvard's sponsorship eligibility under the Exchange Visitor Program certification, or J-1 visa programme, reported NBC News. The secretary of state said in a statement that all sponsors of the programme 'must comply with all regulations, including conducting their programmes in a manner that does not undermine the foreign policy objectives or compromise the national security interests of the United States.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The American people have the right to expect their universities to uphold national security, comply with the law, and provide safe environments for all students. The investigation will ensure that State Department programmes do not run contrary to our nation's interests,' Rubio said. A spokesperson for Harvard said that the Ivy League school 'is committed to continuing to comply with the applicable Exchange Visitor Program regulations.' 'This investigation is yet another retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment right. Harvard continues to enrol and sponsor international scholars, researchers, and students, and will protect its international community and support them as they apply for US visas and travel to campus this fall,' the spokesperson added. With inputs from agencies
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First Post
13 minutes ago
- First Post
‘This happens in a banana republic': Trump's Greece and China-like reaction to job data draws flak
History shows that when political leaders manipulate or interfere with economic statistics, the results are often disastrous. read more US property mogul Donald Trump leads a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump's proposed golf resort, near Aberdeen, north east Scotland, May 27, 2010. File Image/Reuters When President Donald Trump received disappointing jobs numbers on Friday (August 1), his response was swift and alarming: he fired Erika McEntarfer, the Senate-confirmed head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This unprecedented move has raised concerns among economists and experts, who warn that meddling with government data can have far-reaching consequences. History shows that when political leaders manipulate or interfere with economic statistics, the results are often disastrous. Why is Labor Department's independence critical? The BLS, though officially part of the Labor Department, operates independently to produce nonpartisan data on critical metrics like employment, prices, and wages. This impartiality is vital, as reliable statistics help make sound decisions in both the public and private sectors. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For instance, the Federal Reserve relies on BLS data on inflation and unemployment to set interest rates, which directly impact the cost of mortgages and car loans for millions of Americans. As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell recently stressed at a news conference, 'Good data helps not just the Fed, it helps the government, but it also helps the private sector.' He added, 'The United States has been a leader in that for 100 years, and we really need to continue that in my view.' Trump's decision to dismiss McEntarfer has drawn sharp criticism, with many seeing it as a step toward undermining the integrity of economic data. Former Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen called the move deeply troubling, stating, 'This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic.' Lessons from history History offers stark warnings about the dangers of manipulating government data. In the early 2000s, Chinese local authorities fudged economic figures to meet Beijing's growth targets, rendering official data unreliable. Analysts and policymakers were forced to turn to alternative measures to understand the true state of China's economy. Similarly, Greece's government falsified deficit numbers for years, a deception that fueled a crippling debt crisis requiring multiple international bailouts. When the head of Greece's statistical agency insisted on reporting accurate figures, he faced criminal prosecution. Perhaps most notoriously, Argentina systematically understated inflation rates during the 2000s and 2010s, leading the international community to dismiss its data entirely. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These examples show the chaos that ensues when political pressures compromise data integrity. Economists warn that Trump's firing of McEntarfer risks setting the US on a similar path, eroding trust in the numbers that guide critical economic decisions.
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Business Standard
13 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Tankers deliver barrels of Russian crude to India despite US, EU pressure
India's appetite for discounted Russian crude, and its position as the single largest buyer of Moscow's seaborne oil, has long been a pain point for the US and Western allies Bloomberg By Weilun Soon and Rakesh Sharma At least four tankers discharged millions of barrels of Russian crude at Indian refineries at the weekend, a sign the closely scrutinised deliveries are continuing as normal, even as the US ramps up pressure on the South Asian country to stop purchases. Oil traders and shipping companies have been waiting for direction from New Delhi on whether supplies from Moscow will be allowed to continue after US President Donald Trump last week threatened punitive action to curb trade with Russia. Over the weekend, a senior aide accused India of effectively funding President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. Washington's tough demands, coming after a surprise 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports to the US, threw private and state-owned refineries' purchase plans into disarray. Still, India hasn't asked refiners to stop Russian crude imports, according to people familiar with the matter. Three Aframaxes — the Achilles, Elyte and Horae — unloaded nearly 2.2 million barrels of Urals crude, a key Russian grade, to private processors Nayara Energy Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd over the weekend after a slight delay, ship-tracking data show. The Mikati, also an Aframax, delivered more than 720,000 barrels of Russia's Varandey crude on a two-stop journey that included deliveries to refineries in Kochi and Mangalore. State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd owns the Kochi refinery, while Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. is majority owned by state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd. More tankers are poised to discharge another 2.2 million barrels of Urals in the coming hours, with Minion and Destan now at Sikka, a terminal operated by Reliance. Aldebaran is due to unload across the gulf at Mundra. While Bloomberg News couldn't immediately determine the buyer, the Mundra port serves both government-run Indian Oil Corp Ltd. and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, partially owned by state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. Reliance, the largest buyer of Russian Urals, has a long-term deal with Russian producer Rosneft PJSC that would ensure it can get those barrels over several years. India's appetite for discounted Russian crude, and its position as the single largest buyer of Moscow's seaborne oil, has long been a pain point for the US and Western allies. Scrutiny has increased in recent weeks, even before Trump's latest comments. Nayara was sanctioned by the European Union on July 18 for its links to Russia, prompting the processor to cut run rates and pushing trade partners to seek supplies elsewhere.
