That fear comes when China started experiencing reverse brain drain. In the past decade, increasing numbers of Chinese scholars have been drawn to the country with the promise of adequate funding, impressive titles, and national pride. More recently, scientists returning to China cited a hostile environment in the United States as a factor.
Westlake University, a research university in the east China city of Hangzhou, has recruited an impressive list of talent, many of whom previously taught at leading American schools. In August, Westlake announced several new hires, including a full professor from Northwestern University and another from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Shi Yigong, a prominent molecular biologist and president of Westlake University, said colleagues had complained about the atmosphere of suspicion in the United States. “I sometimes hear bitter stories for those who have decided to quit their jobs in the United States,” said Dr. Shi. “I think some of them, not all of them, were honored for what I think was pretty harsh treatment.”
However, at least one person is determined to stay in the United States: Dr. Hu.
The son of a factory worker, he grew up in a poor village in east China’s Shandong Province and said his interest in science began at a young age. In elementary school, he assembled a simple radio by wiring a speaker with scrap and hooking it up to a makeshift antenna that he hung from a tree.
After studying in China, he left the country with his wife in 1997 and worked in several countries before receiving his second doctorate. in physics in Canada. Like countless immigrants before him, he moved to the United States in 2013 with the hope of a better life and a better career.
He said he had sacrificed too much to give up everything now.
He prefers to stay in the USA not only to contribute to science, his first love, but also to his new passion: promoting justice. “I’m not interested in politics and I have almost no idea about it,” he said. “But I know it’s targeting Chinese and Asian Americans – that won’t make the United States strong.”
Javier C. Hernandez and Amy Chang dog Contributions contributed.
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