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PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

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Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#41

Post by jccalhoun »

tomp wrote: post #38
MisterSandman wrote: post #3

The link leads to a reddit post, which leads to another reddit post, which leads to this article in Swiss: https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/hsg-und-china-kritik-auf-twitter-... I can't read Swiss... but the comments on Reddit seem to show that this isn't as cut and dry as the title makes it sound. Quoting /u/hamsterman20: > "First of all, he was going to a chinese university with a chinese scholarship. > He left the swiss…

The reddit comment might be Chinese propaganda. Reading the beginning of the English version of the article [1], it looks like the student was expelled from University of St. Gallen , which definitely sounds like a Swiss university. [1] https://www.nzz.ch/english/swiss-phd-students-dismissal-spot...

However, from later on in the article, "Yet throughout the spring of 2020, the university stuck to its position that when the trouble over his tweets broke out, he had long since ceased to be a St. Gallen doctoral student."

So it looks like the guy wasn't technically a student at the university at the time.

I don't know but I would guess this was some kind of technical move that is commonly done but because he kicked up some trouble, the university used this technicality as an excuse to get rid of him.

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#42

Post by s1artibartfast »

tomp wrote: post #38
MisterSandman wrote: post #3

The link leads to a reddit post, which leads to another reddit post, which leads to this article in Swiss: https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/hsg-und-china-kritik-auf-twitter-... I can't read Swiss... but the comments on Reddit seem to show that this isn't as cut and dry as the title makes it sound. Quoting /u/hamsterman20: > "First of all, he was going to a chinese university with a chinese scholarship. > He left the swiss…

The reddit comment might be Chinese propaganda. Reading the beginning of the English version of the article [1], it looks like the student was expelled from University of St. Gallen , which definitely sounds like a Swiss university. [1] https://www.nzz.ch/english/swiss-phd-students-dismissal-spot...

Finish the article.

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#44

Post by chrissnell »

MisterSandman wrote: post #3

The link leads to a reddit post, which leads to another reddit post, which leads to this article in Swiss: https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/hsg-und-china-kritik-auf-twitter-... I can't read Swiss... but the comments on Reddit seem to show that this isn't as cut and dry as the title makes it sound. Quoting /u/hamsterman20: > "First of all, he was going to a chinese university with a chinese scholarship. > He left the swiss…

Considering that the CCP paid The NY Times, LA Times, and other major papers to publish propaganda pieces and not publish COVID lab leak pieces during 2020, I don't believe much of what I read when it comes to articles that could be deemed favorable to China.

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#45

Post by tomp »

jccalhoun wrote: post #41
tomp wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reddit comment might be Chinese propaganda. Reading the beginning of the English version of the article [1], it looks like the student was expelled from University of St. Gallen , which definitely sounds like a Swiss university. [1] https://www.nzz.ch/english/swiss-phd-students-dismissal-spot...

However, from later on in the article, "Yet throughout the spring of 2020, the university stuck to its position that when the trouble over his tweets broke out, he had long since ceased to be a St. Gallen doctoral student." So it looks like the guy wasn't technically a student at the university at the time. I don't know but I would guess this was some kind of technical move that is commonly done but because he kicked…

Sounds like a very weak excuse. "We let our not-students keep their email accounts until we not-kick-them-out."

The point is that a Swiss university retaliated against a Swiss student in Switzerland due to Chinese/CCP pressure because he voiced his political opinion.

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#46

Post by Tomte »

> Als seine Freundin einige der Tweets sieht, ist sie schockiert. Sie bittet ihn am Telefon, damit aufzuhören. Nicht weil sie bei allem anderer Meinung wäre. Sondern weil sie sich vor Repressionen der chinesischen Regierung fürchtet. «Ich bin in der Schweiz, nicht in China», antwortet er. «Hier kann ich sagen, was ich will.»

Translation:

When his girlfriend saw some of his tweets she's aghast. She's asking him on the phone to stop. Not because she disagrees. But because she is afraid of repercussions by the Chinese government. "I'm in Switzerland, not China", he replies, "here I can say whatever I want".

Of course he should be able to speak his mind.

But when your girlfriend (who is Chinese and living in China) pleads for you to stop, maybe you should just take the hint. Not even for your sake ("I'm in Switzerland"), but for hers?

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#47

Post by Quanttek »

MisterSandman wrote: post #3

The link leads to a reddit post, which leads to another reddit post, which leads to this article in Swiss: https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/hsg-und-china-kritik-auf-twitter-... I can't read Swiss... but the comments on Reddit seem to show that this isn't as cut and dry as the title makes it sound. Quoting /u/hamsterman20: > "First of all, he was going to a chinese university with a chinese scholarship. > He left the swiss…

I recommend to continue reading the English article:

> Gerber's goal was to be able to continue studying at St. Gallen. But the university argued that the professor hadn’t kicked him out; rather, he had been deregistered at his own request quite some time ago. In fact, as of the fall 2019 semester, Gerber had been officially enrolled only at the university in China, not at St. Gallen. He had been advised to take this tack by the St. Gallen doctoral program manager. In an email, the manager had said this would ensure that the maximum time allowed for pursuit of the degree would not expire while Gerber was in China. «Deregistration allows you to keep all your options on the table,» the email had said. The reregistration process would be like applying all over again – but with the support of his professor, this would be no problem, the program manager said.

It then continues to talk about the voluntary nature of the continued support. The email that was received was also sent by a Chinese student in Canada

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#48

Post by shakow »

tomp wrote: post #45
jccalhoun wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However, from later on in the article, "Yet throughout the spring of 2020, the university stuck to its position that when the trouble over his tweets broke out, he had long since ceased to be a St. Gallen doctoral student." So it looks like the guy wasn't technically a student at the university at the time. I don't know but I would guess this was some kind of technical move that is commonly done but because he kicked…

Sounds like a very weak excuse. "We let our not-students keep their email accounts until we not-kick-them-out." The point is that a Swiss university retaliated against a Swiss student in Switzerland due to Chinese/CCP pressure because he voiced his political opinion.

I don't know how it works there, but IME, I can still use my email from a university I'm not working at for over 2 years.

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#49

Post by ma2rten »

Muahaas wrote: post #21
square_usual wrote: post #7

Great example of a clickbait headline right there. No love lost for the CCP from my side, but making stuff up is stupid. The guy burned bridges with his doctoral advisor, left the uni, went to China to study in a Chinese university and posted a racist cartoon about Chinese people. Then after they expelled him (figures) he tried to force his way back into the previous one. None of this is the least bit controversial.

This is misrepresenting the article quite a bit. The newspaper also sides with him after having reviewed all accounts. He did not "burn" bridges, the relationship was very positive up until the complaint. And he "left" the Uni only temporarily because of an administrative technicality. This is a common thing in German-speaking countries. Some universities have hard limits on the total terms of study. You can avoid ra…

He hasn't tried to reenroll, because he was unable to find an advisor in the same department. Taking an advisor from a different department would mean to start over on his thesis. I'm not sure what would have happened if he was still enrolled in this case. It seems to me that no one can force an adviser to work with him, so this talk about enrollment is a moot point.

Also, according the professor, the only Chinese pressure was an email from a Chinese foreign student in Canada who felt offended by the cartoon. It seems like the initial email from the professor was just not worded carefully and had some speculations about visa repercussions and that is what the entire article is based on.

Re: PhD student in Switzerland expelled after criticizing the CCP in Twitter

#50

Post by disabled »

Non-Swiss students have known to stay away from this university for awhile now. See: https://gmatclub.com/forum/university-of-st-gallen-hsg-mbf-2...

This is a really good overview of one of the Financial Times' top rated business school programs in the world, where this PhD student was expelled from, in Switzerland, with an extremely damning report of the program and how they cook the books to make it look like you would have a chance of making it in a place like Switzerland post-graduation.

What is really damning about it: You have zero chance of integrating unless you have an EU passport from about 8 or so countries, unless you are Swiss. It is very insightful, actually.

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