Harvard disciplines Taiwanese-American student for disrupting Chinese Ambassador's speech

The Chinese student, Zou Hongji, who forcibly removed her from the venue, was not sanctioned, Taiwan News reported.

Documents shared by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with the Washington Free Beacon revealed that Harvard placed Wu on probation in May for "inappropriate social behaviour." In contrast, Zou was not disciplined for his actions against Wu and instead received an apology from the university.

Wu's protest occurred on April 20 during the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference. As Ambassador Xie began his speech, Wu shouted slogans condemning Beijing's human rights abuses. Before Wu could finish, Zou, who grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away, removed her from the venue.

Harvard's disciplinary board voted to place Wu on probation for breaching the university's rules on free speech, although the university's letter did not specify which guidelines Wu had broken. On May 17, an administrative board subcommittee initially recommended only a reprimand, as Wu had apologised during a meeting for her disruption.

Wu explained that her main intent was to protect free speech by showing dissent against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) representative, enabling the audience to think more critically about the ambassador's speech.

She claimed she was unaware that her actions had broken university rules and believed her actions had not prevented the ambassador from speaking. Wu also lamented the threats to her safety and that of others resulting from her protest, reported Taiwan News.

Later that day, the full board rejected the subcommittee's recommendation and issued a formal disciplinary response. The probation would last from May 17-20, according to an email sent to Wu.

In addition to Wu, two other students who had protested the ambassador's remarks were also placed on probation, including Tsering Yangchen, the co-president of Boston's Students for a Free Tibet chapter, while the identity of the other student has not been publicised.

Zou was later identified as a master's candidate at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and an officer in the university's branch of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, which reportedly has ties to the CCP.

Zou had also been one of the organisers of Xie's speech. Harvard notified Zou via email that he had breached the university's policy on physical violence. However, the Harvard Graduate School of Education did not impose any sanctions on him, partly due to the online backlash Zou had received.

Kevin Boehm, the assistant dean for student affairs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, sent a letter about Zou on May 8 to Martin West, the school's Academic Dean, Taiwan News reported.

Boehm cited Zou's claim that he did not use excessive force and that he was the victim of doxxing (having one's residential information and personal identity unwillingly revealed) on social media following the incident. On May 10, West sent an email to Boehm saying that instead of referring Zou for discipline, the school had written a letter of censure.

West later took a conciliatory tone in an email sent to Zou on May 22, saying, "I understand that your intentions were to prevent the event from being further disrupted." West also apologised for the online response to Zou's actions, stating, "I also acknowledge that you and your family have experienced significant harm as a result of the event, which I deeply regret."

Harvard's official correspondence did not mention that Zou's actions against Wu during the speech had been reported to the Massachusetts State Police on April 20 as assault and battery. (ANI)