A federal jury convicts Harvard chemistry professor Charles Lieber for concealing his ties to China in a victory for the U.S. Justice Department’s initiative to address “Chinese economic espionage,” according to an article from The Washington Post. Lieber was reportedly found guilty on two counts of lying to federal authorities, two counts of falsifying tax returns and two counts of failing to report foreign finances.
Lieber worked for three years as a “strategic scientist” at the Wuhan University of Technology in China as part of Beijing’s Thousand Talents recruitment program, according to the article, earning as much as $50,000 per month, $150,000 in annual living expenses and grants of more than $1.5 million to create a research lab at the Chinese university, according to the Post. The Justice Department reportedly labels China’s Thousand Talents program an initiative designed to motivate R&D experts to “transmit the knowledge and research they gain” in the U.S. to China, though participation in the program is not illegal. The charges against Lieber involved false statements and concealment of his involvement with the university and the program.
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