According to the U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan, “No evidence was presented that Hu ever collaborated with a Chinese university in conducting NASA-funded research or used facilities, equipment, or funds from a Chinese university in the course of such research.”
September 13, 2021
Randy Boyd, President
University of Tennessee
800 Andy Holt Tower
1331 Circle Park
Knoxville, TN 37996
Dear President Boyd:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS) is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted, for the last 50 years, to the protection and advancement of human rights and academic freedom for our colleagues all over the world.
We write to request that Dr. Anming Hu, who has been acquitted of all charges, be reinstated as a University of Tennessee (“UT”) faculty member.
According to the U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan, “No evidence was presented that Hu ever collaborated with a Chinese university in conducting NASA-funded research or used facilities, equipment, or funds from a Chinese university in the course of such research.” In his ruling, Judge Varlan has criticized the University of Tennessee for its handling of Dr. Hu’s case: “UT-K’s China Assurance letter and training program not only provided no clarification about the impact of affiliation with Chinese universities under the [law], but indicated that the [provision] was not applicable to UT-K faculty, which included the defendant. Thus, rather than providing clarification that defendant’s affiliation with BJUT may violate the restriction, UT-K’s language could reasonably be construed as exempting defendant from the restriction altogether.”
The academic community is appalled by the behavior of the University of Tennessee that chose to cooperate with the unfair prosecution of its professor over defending him from unfounded accusations. The irreparable harm caused to Dr. Hu by these actions of the university calls for his reinstatement, an apology, and back pay of the salary and benefits that he has lost.
The Committee of Concerned Scientists will be watching closely future handling of this case by the University of Tennessee.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists