After Conviction for Lying About China Ties, Ex-Harvard Chemist Gets Approval to Visit Beijing

A federal judge gave former Harvard Chemistry professor Charles M. Lieber permission to visit China for “employment networking” and give a lecture in Beijing — nearly three years after Lieber was convicted for lying to federal investigators about his relationship to China.

Lieber is currently serving a 18-month term of supervised release after completing six months of house arrest.

Lieber has been actively searching for employment in China since at least June, when he asked a judge if he could visit the University of Hong Kong the next month “to discuss potential faculty appointment and employment opportunities.”

In July, Lieber requested to attend the International Beijing Brain Conference in August to deliver a keynote speech and “discuss research and potential collaborations with local students.”

All three of Lieber’s requests were approved by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper. The most recent request, which Casper signed off on last week, did not specify Lieber’s planned dates of travel.

In the requests, Lieber’s attorneys wrote that they had sought approval for Lieber’s travel from the Chinese consulate but had not heard back.

The Crimson could not determine whether Lieber has visited China yet, and neither Lieber nor his attorneys responded to requests for comment. In August, he told the South China Morning Post via email that he had “not yet visited Hong Kong, but may do so this fall.”

Lieber was convicted in December 2021 for making false statements to investigators about his involvement in the Chinese government’s Thousand Talents Program — which seeks to recruit foreign researchers to Chinese universities — and his ties to the Wuhan University of Technology.

Prior to his conviction, Lieber was one of the most celebrated chemists in the world and, as a University Professor, held Harvard’s highest faculty rank. Until his arrest in 2020, Lieber served as chair of Harvard’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology department. In 2012, he was awarded the Israeli government’s Wolf Prize in Chemistry.

Lieber’s arrest came under fire from many prominent scientists — several dozen of whom circulated an open letter calling the decision to prosecute Lieber “unjust.” The letter, signed by seven Nobel laureates and more than two dozen Harvard professors, warned that similar prosecutions could have a “chilling effect” on international scientific collaboration.

Lieber left Harvard in 2023 after spending three years on paid administrative leave.

—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson can be reached at tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tillyrobin.

—Staff writer Neil H. Shah can be reached at neil.shah@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @neilhshah15.