Harvard battle is Trump's 'Mao moment'

Asia Times

a day ago

During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong pushed for the closure of Chinese universities, seeing higher education as little more than a breeding ground for counterrevolutionary bourgeois intellectuals.
After closing for a period, China's universities reopened on a limited basis from 1970, with selection criteria based on class background, revolutionary devotion and connections to the Communist Party.
It was not until 1977 that the national university entrance exam ( gaokao ) was reinstated and a merit system put back in place. This period had been China's 'Mao moment' in higher education, but Mao's historic mistake appears to be repeating itself in the US today.
Imperial China had a sophisticated system of examinations (kējǔ, 科举) for citizens to reach the status of civil servant, or mandarin. These tests date back to the 7th century, under the Sui dynasty (581-618), and lasted until 1905.
Depending on the period, the exams lasted from one to three days. Candidates were locked in a room, identified by a number, and their tests were copied by a third party so that their identity could not be recognised by their handwriting. All this was to ensure a fair and impartial contest for candidates whose futures were at stake.
MIT professor Yasheng Huang says that if he had to highlight one fundamental difference between China and other civilisations, it would be the existence of these imperial examinations. He adds that they were both a blessing and a curse.
He also points out that they are directly to blame for the state's ongoing monopolisation of human talent in China. Put simply, the best and brightest became mandarins under this system. By depriving society of access to the best talent, the state also denied its people the chance of having any kind of organised religion, commerce or intelligentsia.
For Huang, the imperial examinations were a significant cause of the decline of collective social action in China, one of the distinctive features of a civil society. This is reflected in the title of his 2024 book 'The Rise and Fall of the EAST', where EAST is not a compass point but an acronym for China's defining features: Exams, Autocracy, Stability and Technology.
'The 'Chinese phenomenon' is why this ancient civilization with a long history of more than 2,000 years has declined in the modern era. Why is it lagging behind the modern nations of the world?'
This question was posed in 1991 by the Chinese politician and intellectual Wang Huning, in his book 'America against America'.
Ever since Deng Xiaoping came to power in 1978, it became increasingly clear to China that its progress depended on raising its population's education level, especially after the ravages of the Maoist Cultural Revolution.
To do this, China created the C9 League in 2009. Composed of nine universities and similar to the American Ivy League, its members account for 10% of China's national research budget, 3% of its total number of researchers, and 20% of published studies.
When I spoke of 'barbarians' in my 2024 book 'China for the New Barbarians', (Nola editores, 2024), I did so to call attention to the fact that there is a certain ignorance when the West speaks about China. However, the Trump Administration's ongoing attacks against Harvard, one of the world's most renowned universities, can only be described as barbaric.
Last week, Harvard was barred from enrolling international students on the grounds of alleged leftist indoctrination and anti-Semitism. It has also revoked student visas and, as if that were not enough, it has demanded that universities hand over information on students who have participated in student protests. Students in Harvard protesting against President Donald J. Trump. Pietrorizzatoph/Shutterstock
What the Trump Administration wants is for Harvard to cease foreign admissions, a move that would lock out 6,500 students.
In addition to denying Harvard access to top international talent, it would also inflict enormous damage to the ever-weakening concept of the 'American spirit', made up of democratic values, freedom, generosity, equality of opportunity, universal education, courage and leadership.
The measure has been temporarily blocked by a district judge, though this may not count for much – the Trump Administration has already set a precedent of disputing or ignoring court orders.
The situation is so dire that Jerome Powell – the chair of the Federal Reserve who was appointed by Trump during his first term – has been unable to keep quiet. Addressing Princeton University students at the May 2025 commencement speech, he stressed that American universities are the envy of the world and a crucial asset for the US to continue to lead in scientific innovation and economic dynamism. Powell's speech to Princeton graduates in May 2025. Source: Princeton University, YouTube.
Powell has himself been a target of Trump's criticism. In response to Powell's refusal to lower interest rates – which he has kept between 4.25% and 4.5% to contain inflation – the president has called him 'Mr Too Late' and 'Major loser.'
The world watches in astonishment as the US federal administration attempts to dismantle the country's university system, which for decades has been one of the US's poles of attraction, and a bulwark of its economic and technological success.
This was perhaps best expressed by Oriaku, a Nigerian taxi driver I met back in the nineties who ferried me and my colleague Juan Gordon around Lagos.
He told us about his dream of sending his children to Harvard, and when Juan commented that this would be expensive, he wisely replied, 'if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.' 'Harvard, Harvard,' Oriaku continued, 'that's the only reason I work myself to the bone.'
Moves are already being made elsewhere to pick up the slack and welcome academics. The Hong Kong government, for instance, has called on its universities to attract the foreign talent that the US now wants to reject.
Meanwhile, the Chinese can only smirk: they already lived through Mao's brutal onslaught against their universities during the Cultural Revolution and know that it will bring no benefits. America is living through its own 'Mao moments', but we may soon be able to rename them 'Trump moments.'
Félix Valdivieso is chairman of IE China Observatory, IE University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.