China defends science exchange program following US arrest

BEIJING (AP) — China is defending its international scientific exchange programs in the wake of the conviction of a Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China operated along the same lines as the U.S. and other countries in managing such exchanges. He says U.S. agencies and officials should not “stigmatize” such programs and “instead do something conducive to China-U.S. scientific and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.” Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, pleaded not guilty to filing false tax returns, making false statements, and failing to file reports for a foreign bank account in China.