Harvard slammed for choosing Chinese student with family ties to CCP-affiliated NGO as speaker

Time of India

01-06-2025

Yurong "Luanna" Jiang addresses classmates during commencement ceremonies at Harvard University (Image credits: AP)
Harvard University's decision to select Chinese student Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang as a commencement speaker has sparked a wave of controversy alongside praise, after critics raised concerns about her affiliations and family background.
One of the most widely circulated criticisms came from X user @amuse, who posted, 'Why would Harvard select a Chinese national affiliated with a CCP-backed NGO whose father is a high-ranking official in that NGO that serves as a quasi-diplomatic agent for the CCP to give the school's commencement address this year?'
The post continued: 'Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang, a representative of a CCP-funded and monitored NGO, gave the commencement speech at Harvard parroting Xi Jinping's diplomatic rhetoric about a 'shared future for mankind.'
Her father, Jiang Zhiming, is a senior executive in the NGO and serves as a quasi-diplomatic agent for the CCP. The China biodiversity conservation and green development foundation (CBCGDF) has strong ties to the state and Communist Party and was established in 1985 by China's state council.
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The backlash came as Jiang took the stage at Harvard's commencement ceremony on Thursday, the same day the Trump administration announced plans to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, particularly those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or working in sensitive academic fields.
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Jiang, who studied international development, titled her speech 'Our Humanity,' and focused on the need for compassion and unity in a divided world. 'Today, that promise of a connected world is giving way to division, fear, and conflict,' she said. 'We're starting to believe that people who think differently, vote differently, or pray differently... are not just wrong. We mistakenly see them as evil.' Her speech received a short standing ovation.
She later told Harvard Magazine that although she did not name US President Donald Trump directly, she had him in mind while writing her remarks. 'In a very divided world, we should refuse to demonise those we disagree with,' she said. 'Humanity rises and falls together.'
Harvard president Alan Garber also addressed the ceremony, defending the university's international outlook. 'Our global reach is just as it should be,' he said, receiving loud applause.
Trump has criticised Harvard for having an international student population of 25 per cent and has called for it to be reduced to 15 per cent. He also warned the university that its federal funding could be at risk unless leadership and policy changes are made.
Garber pushed back strongly, calling the administration's actions an 'unlawful attempt to control fundamental aspects of our university's operations.'