Latest news with #Yurong'Luanna'Jiang
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Harvard derangement': Student with potential links to CCP allowed to give graduation speech
Sky News host Rita Panahi discusses a controversial speech given by Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang during a Harvard graduation ceremony after it was exposed, she has alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 'The Harvard derangement isn't just centred around Israel and Palestine. Look at who Harvard chose to give the commencement speech this year – a Chinese national, a student whose family have ties to the CCP,' Ms Panahi said. 'It appears that not only do her family have CCP links, but the student herself 'Luanna' Jiang, worked for a Chinese Communist Party entity with extensive ties to Beijing's military and intelligence networks.'
The Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Harvard speech sparks China debate on elite education access, privilege
Emotional remarks by a Chinese student who delivered this year's Harvard University commencement speech have sparked a debate in China about barriers to elite education. The speech by Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang, the first Chinese woman chosen as Harvard's student commencement speaker, called for global unity amid US President Donald Trump's plan to 'aggressively' revoke Chinese student visas. Internet users have since raised questions about a lack of access for many ordinary students who have struggled to be considered for prestigious universities, citing an uneven distribution of financial and educational resources. While some praised her message of 'a shared humanity', which echoed Beijing's diplomatic vision of 'a community with a shared future for mankind', others criticised her 'privileged' background and questioned whether she truly represented the broader Chinese student population. According to Harvard Magazine, Jiang, originally from Qingdao in eastern China, attended high school in the United Kingdom. She completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University before enrolling at the Harvard Kennedy School for a master's degree. Internet users also questioned her volunteer experience in the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation – where her father reportedly worked as a director, and which played a role in securing a recommendation letter for her Harvard application in 2022. Jiang's public scrutiny came a month following a national outcry in which a trainee doctor, who came from a privileged family, was exposed for submitting forged transcripts while applying to the prestigious Peking Union Medical College. The programme, piloted in 2019 and unknown even to many doctors, had allowed bachelor's degree holders from the top 50 global universities to obtain a medical doctor's degree after only four more years of medical training, bypassing a much longer course of study for most doctors in China. The woman's degree has since been revoked. Critics on Chinese social media expressed frustration that Jiang's academic path – shaped by international education and apparently supported by family resources – remained out of reach for lower- and middle-class families in China. Her success is being seen as emblematic of the widening gap in educational opportunities across social hierarchies, driven by the unequal distribution of wealth. Some users on China's Weibo social media network were incensed. 'How could an ordinary family afford to attend high school in the UK?' asked one person. 'To put it bluntly, she has resources or money – things most people do not have,' wrote another. 'She also knows how to plan: transferring from a high school in Qingdao to the UK ... then applying to Harvard. Few of us from ordinary backgrounds are even aware of such a path. And as for the connections she may have relied on – if you had a father like hers, I believe you'd use it too, perhaps even more ruthlessly.' Jiang's high school in the UK, Cardiff Sixth Form College in Wales, is a private boarding school with annual tuition for international boarders costing around £70,000 (US$94,500), according to the school's 2025–26 fee schedule. Most Chinese high schools are public and charge only a few thousand yuan per semester. Most students must sit for the Gaokao – China's most important examination – which serves as the primary path to university admission and plays a critical role in shaping a student's professional future. On Weibo, Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of Global Times, a nationalist paper affiliated with People's Daily, said it was understandable that many felt it was 'unfair' that Jiang may have access to resources unavailable to children from ordinary families – especially in the current climate of fierce competition for quality education and rising youth unemployment. According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, the country's youth unemployment rate in April was 15.8 per cent, amid a sluggish economy and growing geopolitical tensions. It had peaked at 21.3 per cent in June 2023. Hu also cautioned against using Jiang's case to fuel discrimination against the broader community of Chinese students studying abroad, adding that not all of them were necessarily 'the rich'. 'China is an open society. We must have the mindset to engage in normal exchanges with world-renowned universities like Harvard, and the capacity to gain positive resources from them while guarding against negative influences,' Hu wrote, citing 'commendable' moves by leading Hong Kong universities to unconditionally accept all Harvard international students following Trump's ban. 'If Chinese students at Harvard choose to return to work in China after graduation, they should be encouraged and welcomed by society as a whole,' he added. Several news outlets have also weighed in, saying that the discussion reflected broader concerns about education equality. The Elephant News, from state-owned Henan Television Station, said internet users were not denying Jiang's personal efforts but rather a broader concern over privileged educational access. 'Her success undoubtedly benefited from privileged resources. The public ... points to a broader concern that the privileged have consolidated resources to pave an express path for their children to elite universities, while exceptionally talented students from ordinary families struggle to overcome economic and informational barriers,' the news portal wrote. Jiang has rejected the criticism in several lengthy posts on Weibo, claiming that she did not include the recommendation letter in her Harvard application due to a limit on the number of recommendations she could submit. She also said that she was estranged from her father, who divorced her mother. She added that both her commencement speech at Harvard and her responses on Chinese social media reflected her efforts to 'strive for a Chinese voice' in the public sphere. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
News18
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
As Chinese Harvard Student Says ‘Humanity Rises, Falls As One'. Two Men Fight In Background
Last Updated: In her speech, Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang talked about how international students help build a world connected through diversity and shared progress. Yurong 'Luanna" Jiang, the first Chinese woman chosen as Harvard's student speaker, caught the world's attention with her emotional graduation speech. She spoke about the importance of 'shared humanity" and called for global unity. Her message struck a chord, especially amid growing tensions around international students from China following the Trump administration's tough visa policies. After delivering her speech, Jiang gave an interview to the Associated Press (AP) where she expressed her thoughts more deeply. 'The message itself, if I have to put it into one sentence, will be that humanity rises and falls as one. We are living in a very difficult time. There are a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, and identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another," Jiang told AP. But what happened during that interview unexpectedly stole the show. While Jiang was giving her interview, two men were seen fighting in the background. Just as she said, 'Humanity rises and falls as one," the men behind her suddenly fell to the ground fighting. After they got up, they continued their argument. The video clip of this strange scene sparked interest across social media with many seeing it as a powerful metaphor for the divisions Jiang spoke about. One user sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, 'During an interview with the 25-year-old Chinese student who was Harvard's valedictorian, two old American men were fighting behind her – it was like some kind of metaphor. You cannot make satirical sitcoms in the US these days because real life can look like this." In the comments, social media users shared their reactions to the unexpected fight happening during such a serious interview. One user commented, 'Priceless!! It's just like an old Charlie Chaplin movie!!!" Another added, 'That hardcut from the wrestling match to the clapping has me dead." 'Hilarious. She said 'humanity rises and falls as one' and down the guys behind her went…" while another added, 'Oh boy, this is so well timed," someone else said. An individual called it 'simultaneously hilarious and depressing." Other remarks included, 'My first belly laugh of the day," 'Absolute cinema" and 'America in a nutshell." In her speech, Jiang talked about how international students help build a world connected through diversity and shared progress. But she warned that this connected world was now being replaced by fear, division and conflict. 'Humanity rises and falls as one. But today … we're starting to believe that people who think differently, vote differently, or pray differently – whether they're across the ocean or sitting right next to us – are not just wrong. We mistakenly see them as evil. But it doesn't have to be this way," she said. 'If we still believe in a shared future, let us not forget: those we label as enemies – they, too, are human. In seeing their humanity, we find our own. In the end, we don't rise by proving each other wrong. We rise by refusing to let one another go. We are bound by something deeper than belief: our shared humanity," she added. Even though Jiang didn't mention the Trump administration's immigration policies in her speech, she told AP that the recent threats to arrest or send international students back home have made her and her classmates feel worried and unsure about their future in the US. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Harvard has over 10,000 international students right now. That's about 30% of all students with roughly 2,000 coming from China. This week, the Trump administration asked government agencies to cancel contracts worth around $100 million with Harvard. Before that, it had already stopped more than $2.6 billion in research funding, tried to block Harvard from accepting international students and even threatened to take away the university's tax-exempt status. The government also widened its efforts by pausing visa applications worldwide and warning that thousands of Chinese students could lose their US visas. Watch CNN-News18 here. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos, and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Harvard student viral news Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: June 02, 2025, 15:16 IST News viral As Chinese Harvard Student Says 'Humanity Rises, Falls As One'. Two Men Fight In Background
India Today
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
The irony. As Harvard graduate speaks about unity, a brawl in the background
A Harvard graduate was delivering a message on compassion and unity when the moment became rather chaotic - not because of her words but two men who began fighting just behind her during her a striking twist of irony, Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang was speaking about empathy during her interview with The Associated Press when the scuffle broke out in the video of the moment has now gone viral on social media, with several users saying, 'You cannot make satirical sitcoms in the US these days because real life can look like this.' Filmed in what appeared to be an open-air restaurant, the video showed two men shoving each other. One was knocked to the ground before both men got up and walked away.'The message itself, if I have to put it into one sentence, will be humanity rises and falls as one. We are living in a very difficult time. There's a lot of divisions in terms of ideas, ethnicities, identities. This is a time where we can use a little bit more moral imagination and imagine ourselves being connected with one another,' Jiang told The Associated Press, unaware of the brawl unfolding behind an interview with the 25-year-old Chinese student who was Harvard's valedictorian, two old American men were fighting behind her - it was like some kind of cannot make satirical sitcoms in the US these days because real life can look like this. ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda) June 1, 2025advertisementYurong 'Luanna' Jiang is the first Chinese woman who has been selected as the student speaker at a Harvard graduation ceremony. Her graduation speech at Harvard University, calling for shared humanity and global unity, had gone viral.
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Harvard slammed for choosing Chinese student with family ties to CCP-affiliated NGO as speaker
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. ' 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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 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.'
