美国当地时间 1 月 22 日，麻省理工学院（MIT）校长 L.拉斐尔·莱夫（L. Rafael Reif），再次就该校教授陈刚被捕一事发布公开信，本次公开信中，他主要回应了 MIT 和 中国南方科技大学合作的事情。
图 | MIT 校长 L.拉斐尔·莱夫（L. Rafael Reif）
以下为 MIT 校长 L.拉斐尔·莱夫（L. Rafael Reif）公开信的中文翻译全文：
《就麻省理工学院、陈刚教授与南方科技大学合作关系的再次声明信》
致麻省理工学院社区的朋友们：
自上周陈刚教授被逮捕以来，MIT 一直非常关注他和他的家人，围绕这个案件的其他更大的问题，我还想分享一些其他想法。
这一案件正在审理中，我就不再详述。然而，由于（美国）政府的起诉和随后的媒体报道涉及到麻省理工学院与中国深圳南方科技大学 (SUSTech) 的合作，我想澄清一下这一合作的性质。
正如 MIT News 当时的报道，麻省理工学院于 2018 年与南方科技大学建立了合作关系，在麻省理工学院和南方科技大学建立了机械工程研究和教育中心。陈刚教授代表麻省理工学院出任该中心首届教务主任，但这并不是一次个人合作；这是一个系的合作，由麻省理工学院支持。
根据协议，南方科技大学将在 5 年内支付 2500 万美元给麻省理工学院。其中，1900 万美元用于合作研究和教育活动，600 万美元作为捐赠，用于支持麻省理工学院的建筑改造项目和研究生奖学金。到目前为止，麻省理工学院已经收到了协议承诺的一半金额，这笔资金已被用于支持一些机械工程系成员的研究和教育活动，以及奖学金和各种运营费用。换句话说，这些资金是为了推动一群同事的工作，以及麻省理工学院的研究和教育使命。与南方科技大学的合作，是麻省理工学院院系主导的众多合作关系之一，对象是学术机构。众所周知，包括国际合作在内的合作种类，对推进前沿科学至关重要，这在学术界很常见。
与此同时，麻省理工学院认真对待在如今的复杂世界中不断发展的国家安全需求，以及外国对研究不适当干预而产生的具体风险。作为一个团体，我们相信保持研究的完整性是我们的基本责任。这一承诺是我们政策和实践的基石。
最后，我想对来自中国和华裔社区的校友 —— 来自中国的本科生、研究生、博士后、学者、研究人员、员工、教师、校友和公司成员们说：我已经听说了许多关于你们的经历，以及你们周围不断增长的不信任和猜疑的环境。在我们的社会，这种环境会让日常生活和日常工作变得困难，痛苦和疲惫。
因此，我想像以前一样明确地声明，你们是我们麻省理工社区不可或缺的成员。我们珍视你们作为学生、同事、教师、创新者和领导者所做的贡献，我们珍视你们个人作为朋友的价值 —— 就像我们珍视麻省理工学院全球大家庭的每一位成员，包括陈教授和他的家人一样。
在这艰难的时刻，让我们互相关爱，互相尊重。
L.拉斐尔·莱夫（L. Rafael Reif）
同日，推特身份认证为哈佛大学力学与材料教授的 Zhigang Suo，转发了一份麻省理工学院陈刚教授的同事和朋友就陈刚被捕事件发给 MIT 校长L.拉斐尔·莱夫（L. Rafael Reif） 的联名信。
图 |Zhigang Suo 的推特截图
据《波士顿环球报》(The Boston Globe)报道，联名信的起草者是 MIT 材料科学系教授尤尔芬克（Yoel Fink），他表示虽然大多数美国科学家理解美国将中国视为全球竞争对手，但他们担心美国政府的策略是在将学者的小失误变成间谍活动，这会破坏顶尖学者的职业生涯，也会对能激发科学突破的合作造成寒蝉效应。“我所看到的是正常的活动被定为犯罪，” 芬克说道，“没人知道下一个是谁。”
图 |尤尔芬克（Yoel Fink）
以下为该联名信的中文翻译全文：
尊敬的 Rafael：
作为麻省理工学院陈刚教授的同事和朋友，我们对他最近被捕同样感到沮丧和痛苦。我们都知道陈刚教授是一位真正受人爱戴的老师、学者、科学家、导师、同事和世界领先的学者。我们也知道他是麻省理工学院社区忠诚的成员。在过去的几十年里，他用卓越的科学工作、对教育的深刻贡献以及他的领导才能为麻省理工学院做出了卓越的贡献。他的工作对美国的科学发展和经济增长、以及麻省理工学院的全球科学地位做出了重大贡献。他所有的全球性工作都是为了推进麻省理工学院的使命：“在科学、技术和其他学术领域增进知识、教育学生，为 21 世纪服务国家和世界作最大的努力”。
我们与同事们站在一起，我们对麻省理工学院领导在陈刚教授准备自卫时所提供的支持表示感谢，我们觉得陈刚教授值得麻省理工学院的每一次支持和承诺。此外，我们写信是为了鼓励和支持您和麻省理工学院继续以直率、自豪、积极的态度做陈刚教授的后盾。
随着信息的公开，我们写信来表达我们对针对陈刚教授的指控的关注，以及它对学术开放和知识自由的影响。学术开放和知识自由是解决世界上最大科学挑战工作的基本要素。我们感到困扰的是，针对陈刚教授的指控诋毁了正常的学术和研究活动，包括促进麻省理工学院的全球使命。
我们理解并尊重美国政府针对防止任何国家窃取知识产权所做的努力。这封信的签署人是数百项专利的发明者，我们深知保护他们的权利的重要性。我们坚决抵制任何外国从事此类活动。
在针对陈刚教授的官方诉讼和相关公开声明中，有许多令我们感到困惑的内容。对他的起诉与保护知识产权无关，其认定中存在严重缺陷和误导性。它代表了一种对麻省理工学院如何进行或资助研究的深刻误解。官方声明充满了无端指控并且含沙射影，而这些实际上都是我们职业生活中一些最常规、根本无害的因素。许多常规操作，比如为我们的学生写推荐信以帮助他们获得奖学金，或者帮助他们取得宝贵且应得的职业发展，都被描绘成某种协助外部势力窃取美国技术的同谋行为，（就连）我们对日常研究的计划和评估似乎也被以类似的方式看待。而事实上，研究计划评估是我们工作中众所周知的常规要求。在许多方面，对陈刚教授的指控是对我们所有人的指控，是对任何重视科学和科学事业的公民的侮辱。
虽然目前还不清楚针对陈刚教授的全部指控，但为逮捕陈刚教授而公布的刑事起诉书中已经包含了一些严重错误和误导性的陈述：
指控：自 2013 年以来，“陈刚和他的研究小组已经收到了大约 2900 万美元的外国资助，包括来自中国南方科技大学的 1900 万美元。”
事实：我们的理解是，陈刚教授没有得到 2900 万美元，麻省理工学院才是这笔钱的接受者，这笔钱使学院、许多教员和学生的研究项目受益。把他和他的研究小组单独列为 “唯一” 接受者是完全错误的。与南方科技大学的合作得到了麻省理工学院最高层的批准和监督。
指控：南方科技大学作为中国政府的代理人运作，因此不是一个合法的合作组织。
事实：麻省理工学院和南方科技大学建立了一个正式的中心，是麻省理工学院任命陈刚教授为这个中心的教务主任。该中心的使命是鼓励科学和教育交流，陈刚教授正是这么做的。麻省理工学院与其他国家的大学也有类似的关系。世界上大多数主要的大学都是公共机构，可以合理地描述为属于他们国家政府的一些部门。如果美国政府的领导人认为与他们的合作研究关系是不适当的，这个问题可以通过立法或行政权力来解决。
指控：陈刚在申请和报告能源部的一项拨款时隐瞒了自己与中国合作的隶属关系，并因此犯下了 “电信欺诈” 这一联邦重罪。
事实：陈刚教授的科学合作、以及与中国的更广泛的联系，是一个被广泛披露和公开的问题，任何事情都不可能对公众有所隐藏，更不用说美国能源部资深的拨款审查员了。陈刚教授一贯地、持续地、广泛地在他的出版物中赞扬这些科学合作和资助，这些出版物在这项资助执行之前和执行期间都可以在公共数据库中找到。他的简历可以在麻省理工学院的网站上下载，其中有 62 篇提到中国的文章，他的出版物也专门引用了国际资助，而这些资金来源恰恰是投诉书中声称的 “隐藏” 的来源。我们强调，从更普遍的角度来说，陈刚教授所涉及的广泛的合作远非秘密。
指控：陈刚推荐学生到中国工作，并获得中国政府资助的奖学金。他是中国国家科学基金会的审稿人，（并）为中国服务。
事实：为学生推荐国际职位和奖项，以及为美国和世界各地的科学界审查提案和项目，是我们作为教师工作的重要且常规的部分。这种行为会被描绘成不恰当的、非美国式的，或者是对外国势力的服务，这对我们所有人都是一种侮辱。此外，审查科学提案和推荐学生的职位和奖项是一项日常活动。
指控：“他故意和蓄意骗取 (纳税人) 1900 万美元的联邦拨款，利用我们的系统来加强中国的纳米技术研究。”-Bonavolonta 探员
事实：我们认为，这一广泛和毫无根据的指控没有得到任何证实。多年来，陈刚教授在麻省理工学院的研究部分得到了联邦政府的资助。陈刚教授的研究造福了美国的科学和技术，提升了麻省理工学院在世界范围内的科学地位，为全球科学界、以及许多美国和国际学生做出了榜样。数十份科学出版物表明，陈刚教授的意图和对研究支持的使用，与麻省理工学院开展优秀基础科学研究的核心使命是一致的。
这些误导性的陈述让我们不禁质疑，为何要采取如此极端的措施逮捕陈刚教授这位在麻省理工学院恪尽职守的科学家和教育家。刑事调查显然是在一年多前开始的，但值得注意的是，这是在美国检察官 Andrew Lelling 任期的最后几天开始逮捕的。Lelling 是特朗普总统任命的，是司法部 “中国倡议” 指导委员会的成员，该倡议率先使用 “创新起诉方法”，针对来自或参与过与中国相关的科学交流的学者。这一运动的种族主义色彩可以从 Lelling 自己最近接受《科学》采访时所说的话中得到反映：“不幸的是，我们的很多目标都是华裔。如果是法国政府盯上了美国的技术，我们就会找法国人。” 美国联邦当局近年来对美籍华人科学家以及其他亚裔和亚裔美国血统的科学家进行了大量调查，这让我们倍感担忧。
最后，我们感谢您和麻省理工学院对陈刚教授的支持。我们知道学院在经济上支持他并为他提供辩护所需的信息。我们也知道支持陈刚教授的学生和研究活动的准备工作正在进行中。在这困难的时刻，我们随时准备以任何必要的方式与你们合作，并提供帮助。
我们也敦促麻省理工学院承担起领导作用，将这一艰难时刻转变为一个学习的时刻。在这个国家，针对陈刚教授的指控正是捍卫学术自由的时刻。在很多方面，为陈刚教授辩护就是为我们都珍视的科学事业辩护。我们每个人都是陈刚。
签名：
~ 100 名麻省理工学院教授
以下为 MIT 校长L.拉斐尔·莱夫（L. Rafael Reif）公开信英文全文（上下滑动查看）：
LETTERS TO THE MIT COMMUNITY-Letter to the community re. SUSTECH Relationship and Professor Chen
To the members of the MIT community,
Since last week’s arrest of Professor Gang Chen, our community has been deeply concerned – for Gang and his family, and about larger issues surrounding the case. I would like to offer a few thoughts beyondwhat I shared last week.
Because the legal case is proceeding, I will not address its specifics. However, since the government’s complaint and the resulting media coverage touch on MIT’s collaboration with theSouthern University of Science and Technology(SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China, I would like to clarify the nature of the SUSTech engagement.
As reported at the time in MIT News, MIT established a collaboration with SUSTechin 2018 to create the Centers for Mechanical Engineering Research and Education,at MIT and SUSTech.While Professor Chen is its inaugural MIT faculty director, this is not an individual collaboration; it is a departmental one, supported by the Institute.
The agreement provides $25 million to be paid to MIT over five years. Of that sum,$19 million is for collaborative research and educational activities, and $6 million is designated as a gift to support MIT building renovation projects and an endowed graduate fellowship.To date, MIT has received about half of the amount committed under the agreement, which hasbeen allocated tosupportresearch and educational activities of a number of Mechanical Engineering faculty members, as well as fellowships and various operational expenses. In other words, these funds are about advancing the work of a group of colleagues, and the research and educational mission of MIT.
The SUSTech relationship is one of many faculty-led collaborations MIT maintains with academic institutions. As we all know, collaborations, including international collaborations, are crucial to advancing frontier science, and they are common in academia.
At the same time,MIT takes seriously the evolving demands of national security in a complex world, and the specificrisks of inappropriate foreign influence on research. As a community, we believe the integrity of our research is a fundamental responsibility. That commitment is bedrock to our policies and practice.
Finally, to our Chinese and Chinese American community –our undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, scholars, researchers, staff, faculty, alumni and Corporation members of Chinese descent: I have heard from many of you about your experiences with a growing atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion in our society, an atmosphere that can make daily life and daily work difficult, painful and exhausting.
I would therefore like to state clearly,as I have before, that youare essential and integral members of our MIT community. We value your contributions as students, colleagues, teachers, innovators and leaders, and we value you personally as friends – just as we value every member of the global family of MIT, including Professor Chen and his family.
In this difficult moment, let’s take special care to treat each other with respect and thoughtfulness.
Sincerely,
L. Rafael Reif
以下为 MIT 百名教员联名信英文全文（上下滑动查看）：
Dear Rafael,
As colleagues and friends of MIT Professor Gang Chen, we share our dismay and pain over his recent arrest [1]. We all know Gang as a truly beloved teacher, scholar, scientist, metor, colleague, and world leading academic. We also know him as a loyal and devoted member of the MIT community. Gang has served MIT with distinction over decades through his extraordinary scientific work, his profound contributions to education, and his leadership. His work has contributed significantly to American scientific welfare and economic growth, and to MIT’s worldwide scientific standing. All his global work has been furthering MIT’s mission “to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century”.
We are standing in solidarity with our colleague, we wish to express our appreciation for the support that MIT leadership is providing to Gang as he prepares to defend himself [2,3], and we feel that he deserves every support and commitment from MIT. Moreover, we are writing to encourage that you and MIT continue to stand forthrightly, proudly, and energetically behind Gang Chen.
With the information that is publicly available [1,2], we are writing to share our concerns on the allegations against Gang, and its implications for open academia and intellectual freedom, which are essential elements of work towards solving the World’s greatest challenges. We are troubled that the complaint against Gang vilifies what would be considered normal academic and research activities, including promoting MIT’s global mission.
We recognize and respect that the United States government has an interest in keeping any country from stealing intellectual property. The signatories to this letter are inventors of record on hundreds of patents, and we recognize the importance of protecting the rights that they confer. We also recognize that the United States Government has expressed concern that China is using illicit means to steal intellectual property [4]. We strongly support efforts to oppose any such activities conducted by any foreign country.
But we are baffled by many elements of the official complaint [2] and the associated public statements [3] against Gang Chen. The criminal complaint against Gang has nothing to do with protecting intellectual property. As published it is deeply flawed and misleading in its assertions. At best, it represents a deep misunderstanding of how research is conducted or funded at a place like MIT. The official complaint is filled with allegations and innuendo based on what are in fact some of the most routine and even innocuous elements of our professional lives. Standard practices such as writing recommendations for our students, so that they might receive fellowships or other prestigious and well-deserved career advancements, are portrayed as some sort of collusion with outside forces in an effort to help them steal American technology. Our routine participation in the evaluation of research proposals seems to be viewed in a similar manner. The fact that we do not report all these activities in our own research proposals is used as a basis for allegations of intentional wrongdoing, when in fact information about these practices is a well known and routine requirement of our job. In many respects, the complaint against Gang Chen is a complaint against all of us, and an affront to any citizen who values science and the scientific enterprise.
While the full extent of the charges against Gang are not known at this time, the criminal complaint as published to justify Gang’s arrest already contains some deeply flawed and misleading statements:
Allegation
That since 2013 “CHEN and his research group has received approximately $29 million of foreign funding, including $19 million from the PRCs Southern University of Science and Technology [SUSTech]”
Facts
Our understanding is that, Gang did not receive $29 million, and MIT was the recipient of this money, which benefited the Institute, the research programs of many of its faculty, and its students. Singling him and his research group out as the “sole” recipient is simply wrong. The partnership with SUSTech was approved and overseen by MIT at the highest levels.
Allegation
That SUSTech operates as a proxy to the Chinese government and thus is not a legitimate organization to collaborate with.
Facts
MIT has created a formal Center with SUSTech University, it is MIT who appointed Gang as the Faculty Leader of this Center. The mission of this center is to encourage scientific and educational exchange, which is exactly what Gang has done under its auspices. MIT has similar relationships with universities and other entities from other countries as well as China. Most major universities in the world are public institutions and can be described reasonably as belonging to some arm of their country’s governments. If leaders in the U.S. government believe cooperative research relationships with them are improper, the issue could be addressed legislatively or with executive authority.
Allegation
That Gang hid his affiliation and collaborations with China in applying and reporting on a DOE grant and in doing so committed “wire fraud,” a federal felony.
Facts
Gang’s scientific collaborations and broader connections to China are a matter of extensive disclosure and public record and anything but hidden from the eyes of the public let alone the sophisticated grant reviewers at the DOE. Gang routinely, consistently and extensively credited these scientific collaborations and funding in his publications available on public databases before and during this grant execution. His CV, available for download on MIT’s website, contains 62 references to China, and his publications cite international funding specifically from the very sources claimed in the complaint to be “hidden”. We emphasize that more generally, the extensive collaborative efforts that Gang is involved in are far from secret.
Allegation
That Gang recommended students for positions in China and for scholarship awards funded by the Chinese Government. Chen served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation of China and in doing so served the PRC.
Facts
Recommending students for international positions and awards, as well as reviewing proposals and projects for the scientific community in the US and world-wide, is an essential and routine part of our job as faculty. That this activity would be portrayed as improper, unamerican or as a service to a foreign power is an affront to all of us. Moreover, reviewing scientific proposals and recommending students for positions and awards is a routine activity. There are many innocuous explanations for omissions on forms.
Allegation
“He knowingly and willfully defrauded (the Taxpayers) out of $19 million in federal grants by exploiting our system to enhance China’s research in nanotechnology.” – Agent Bonavolonta
Facts
We believe that there is no substantiation provided to this broad and unqualified accusation. Gang’s research at MIT has been funded in part through federal grants over the years. Gang’s research has benefitted American science and technology, MIT’s worldwide scientific standing, and the global scientific community, as well as Gang’s many American and international students. Dozens of scientific publications demonstrate that Gang’s intent and use of research support were consistent with MIT’s core mission of conducting outstanding basic scientific research.
These misleading statements lead us to question the motivation for taking the extreme step of arresting Gang Chen, a dedicated scientist and educator performing his duties at MIT. While the criminal investigation apparently started more than a year ago, we find it noteworthy that U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling commenced the arrest in the last few days of his tenure. Lelling was appointed by President Trump and is a member of the Steering Committee of the DOJ’s “China Initiative”, which has spearheaded the use of “innovative prosecutorial methods” [5] to target academics who are from or have participated in scientific exchange with China. The racial undertones of this campaign are reflected in the following quote from Lelling himself in a recent interview for Science [6] “….unfortunately, a lot of our targets are going to be Han Chinese. If it were the French government targeting U.S. technology, we’d be looking for Frenchmen.” Our concerns are compounded by the number of investigations involving Chinese American scientists and other scientists of Asian and Asian American descent conducted by federal authorities in the United States in recent years [7].
Finally, we appreciate your and MIT’s support of Gang. We understand that the Institute is supporting him financially and providing him with the information he needs to defend himself. We also understand that preparations are underway to support Gang’s students and research activities. We stand ready to work with you in whatever way is necessary to help in this difficult time.
We also urge that MIT assume leadership in transforming this difficult time to a learning moment, in which the allegations against Gang Chen are discussed in the context of defending academic freedom in this country. In many respects the defense of Gang Chen is the defense of the scientific enterprise that we all hold dear. We are all Gang Chen.
Signedby:
~100 MIT faculty
-End-
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