NASA Reverses Ban On Chinese Scientists

@AFP

Beijing (AFP) – NASA has reversed a decision to ban six Chinese scientists from a space conference, Chinese state media said, after prominent U.S. astronomers vowed to boycott the meeting in a row over academic freedom.

The U.S. space agency had barred them from participating in the meeting on exoplanets — bodies outside the solar system — in California in early November, saying it was legally obliged to do so because of their nationality.

A NASA committee has now written to the six to change course, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

“We have since been able to clarify the intent of the referenced legislation and are pleased to inform you that this decision has been reversed and your paperwork is being reviewed for clearance,” Xinhua quoted the letter as saying.

“We hope you will be able to join us,” it added.

The initial decision to block the six led to an academic uproar and some leading U.S. astronomers, including Yale University’s Debra Fischer, announced plans to boycott the conference.

Geoff Marcy, an astronomy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote in an email to the organizers: “The meeting is about planets located trillions of miles away, with no national security implications.”

China’s foreign ministry also blasted NASA’s denial of the researchers’ applications as discriminatory, arguing that politics should have no place at academic meetings.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden responded earlier this month by pledging to review the committee’s decision, which he blamed on “mid-level managers” at the agency’s Ames Research Center, which is hosting the event.

Ninety-seven percent of NASA staff were sent home without pay due to the partial U.S. government shutdown this month after Congress failed to pass a budget in time.

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Trump Pundits Line Up Against 'Poisonous' Nikki Haley And Koch Network

Nikki Haley

On Tuesday, Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit founded by billionaire industrialists Charles and the late David Koch, endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for president. The endorsement, AFP’s first in a Republican primary, comes amid consistent media chatter that Haley has surpassed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the preeminent GOP challenger to former President Donald Trump.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump Club Waitress: 'I Was Forced To Engage In Sex' To Keep Job

Alina Habba, left, and former president Donald Trump

Photo by quapan licensed under CC BY 2.0

Alice Bianco, who worked as a server at former President Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, is accusing her former boss of sexual assault, and the ex-president's attorney of making her sign an illegal non-disclosure agreement in an attempt to silence her.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}