Huang Jing (Chinese: 黄靖; born 1956) is a Chinese-American political scientist and alleged foreign agent. He was the director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation and the Lee Foundation Professor on US-China Relations at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy until his permanent residence was revoked after the Singaporean Ministry of Home Affairs called him "an agent of influence of a foreign country" on August 4, 2017.
Huang Jing | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Master degree, Fudan University PhD, Harvard University |
| Alma mater | Sichuan University Fudan University Harvard University |
| Occupation | Political scientist |
| Known for | Attempt to affect Singapore's diplomatic policy and alleged spy. |
| Spouse | Shirley Yang Xiuping |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 黃靖 |
| Simplified Chinese | 黄靖 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Huáng Jìng |
Biography
editEarly life
editHuang Jing was born in China in 1956. His parents were military doctors who served in the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War. While a teenager, he was sent to Yunnan as part of the Down to the Countryside Movement.[1][2]
Huang graduated from Sichuan University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in English, and he went on to earn a master's degree in history from Fudan University and a PhD from Harvard University in 1995.[3][4]
Huang is married to Shirley Yang Xiuping (楊秀萍).[5][3][6] They are both U.S. citizens, and resided in Singapore.[3] In 2017, both of them had their Singapore permanent residence permit cancelled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and denied re-entry to Singapore.
Career
editHuang taught at Harvard University from 1993 to 1994.[3] He was an associate professor of political science at Utah State University from 1994 to 2004, where he was also the director of the Asia Studies Program, and he was granted tenure in 1998.[3][4] He also taught at Shandong University.[4] He was a Shorenstein Fellow at Stanford University from 2002 to 2003, and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution's John Thornton China Center from 2004 to 2008.[3][4]
In 2008, Huang joined the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, where he was the director of the Centre on Asia and Globalization and the Lee Foundation Professor on US-China Relations.[3][5] He also became an analyst for Xinhua News Agency.[3] Since 2019, Huang has been the dean of the Institute of International and Regional Studies at the Beijing Language and Culture University.[7]
Intervention in Singapore diplomatic incident
editOn August 4, 2017, Huang's permanent residence in Singapore was cancelled, and both his wife and himself were permanently denied re-entry, on the assumption that he was "an agent of influence of a foreign country" and[8][6]"subversion and foreign interference in Singapore's domestic politics" by the Singaporean Ministry of Home Affairs. He was accused by the Ministry of Home Affairs for working for intelligence organizations and agents from an unnamed country to influence Singapore's foreign policy and local public opinion.[1]
After Huang's permanent residence was cancelled, he was sharply critical of the move when addressing the media: "It's nonsense to identify me as ‘an agent of influence’ for a foreign country. And why didn't they identify which foreign country they're referring to? Is it the US or China?". He also told the media he would seek help from his lawyer and the US Embassy in Singapore. Huang also refuted on the cancellation of his PR by stating that: "My family and my home are all here. I have property in Singapore, too. How can they treat me like this? If they have evidence, they should take me to court."
Huang also claimed that he wasn't given a deadline to leave Singapore and had seven days to appeal against the cancellation to Ministry of Home Affairs which he did so on 7 August. The appeal was eventually rejected on 23 August 2017 and he and his spouse were permanently banned from re-entering Singapore.[9] Huang said he will seek help from lawyer and United States embassy in Singapore.[10] According to The New York Times, "[s]ome view his academic writings as pro-Chinese."[1]
NUS reaction
editThe National University of Singapore spokesman told the media that the NUS has a zero tolerance approach towards foreign interference, and will not be able to allow Huang to continue working at NUS due to his permit being cancelled.[3]
Later comments
editIn June 2019, Huang told the South China Morning Post that he "worked the whole year in Washington DC, my home, to show that I am not what Singapore implied I am".[7] At the time of Huang's remarks, Singapore did not clarify which country they believed Huang to be acting on behalf of, and Huang said he "wanted to show that at least the US doesn’t think I am working for whoever".[7] He also added that he didn't have "any hard feelings against Singapore" for the incident.[7]
Bilahari Kausikan's response
editBilahari Kausikan responded to Huang's comment by telling the Mothership website that Singapore is not "some banana republic" that will take serious action carelessly. Kausikan also said Huang's working in the United States proves nothing, as Huang was working against Singapore's interest instead of against the United States' interest.[11]
Yeo Jun Wei agent incident
editOn 25 July 2020, a Singaporean named Dickson Yeo Jun Wei was charged with using his political consultancy in America as a front to collect information for China's intelligence agency. Yeo's PhD supervisor at National University of Singapore had been Huang Jing before he was deported by Singapore.[12][13] Kausikan claims Huang Jing was the Chinese “agent” who had recruited Yeo to spy for Beijing, Huang respond to Kausikan's remark and told the media that Kausikan's claim were “nonsense” and “unreasonable”, as well as demanded Kausikan either prove the comments or retract them.[14]
Publication
editBooks publication
editHuang Jing had made several publication of books, including Factionalism in Chinese Communist Politics, which won the 2002 Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize.[4]
- Jing Huang (23 November 2006), Factionalism in Chinese Communist Politics, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-03258-2
- Jing Huang; Xiaoting Li (2010), Inseparable Separation: The Making of China's Taiwan Policy, World Scientific, ISBN 978-981-4287-36-4
- Jing Huang (27 January 2017), Autonomy, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, BiblioBazaar, ISBN 978-1-374-68286-3
Newspaper commentaries
editHuang had written pro-Beijing commentaries for newspaper office from China, including the People's Daily. His action had been quoted by The New York Times and The Washington Post.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c Paddock, Richard C. (August 5, 2017). "Singapore Orders Expulsion of American Academic". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ 中国崛起难免触及美国利益 学者:都要学会包容. 中国经济网. 2007-05-15. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sim, Royston (August 4, 2017). "LKY School professor Huang Jing banned, has PR cancelled, for being agent of influence for foreign country". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Jing Huang, Expert on Security in Asia, Joins Brookings". Brookings Institution. July 21, 2004. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ a b 華裔學者被指當外國間諜 新加坡永久禁入境 [Ethnic Chinese scholar accused of being foreign spy; permanently barred from entering Singapore]. Oriental Daily Hong Kong. 2017-08-04. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- ^ a b "Cancellation of Singapore Permanent Residence (SPR) Status - Huang Jing and Yang Xiuping". Ministry of Home Affairs. Singapore Government. August 4, 2017. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "US academic expelled by Singapore now working in Beijing". South China Morning Post. 2019-06-17. Archived from the original on 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ^ Redden, Elizabeth (August 7, 2017). "Singapore Banishes American Academic". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ Toh, Yong Chuan (2017-08-23). "Banned academic Huang Jing's appeal to keep PR status rejected | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
Dr Huang Jing, 60, and his wife Shirley Yang Xiuping's appeal against the cancellation of their permanent residency was rejected, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday (Aug 23). Dr Huang and his wife were stripped of their permanent residency on Aug 4. They appealed to the Minister for Home Affairs on Aug 7. "The Minister's decision is final. Huang Jing and his wife will have to leave Singapore within a stipulated grace period," MHA said. "They will be permanently banned from re-entering Singapore," it added. It did not say what the grace period was.
- ^ hermesauto (2017-08-04). "LKY School professor Huang Jing banned, has PR cancelled, for being agent of influence for foreign country". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
- ^ Wong, Kayla (28 July 2020). "Bilahari Kausikan: Huang never credibly explained why S'pore took action against him if he was 'innocent'". Mothership.
- ^ YUEN, SIN; NG, CHARMAINE (2020-07-27). "Dickson Yeo case has no direct threat to Singapore's security: MHA". Singapore: The New Paper. Archived from the original on 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
Dr Huang Jing, a former LKYSPP professor who was expelled from the school after the Government identified him as 'an agent of influence of a foreign country' in 2017, said Yeo was one of his PhD students.
- ^ Ponniah, Kevin (2020-07-26). "How a Chinese agent used LinkedIn to hunt for targets". United Kingdom: BBC. Archived from the original on 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
Yeo's PhD supervisor had been Huang Jing, a high-profile Chinese-American professor who was expelled from Singapore in 2017 for being an 'agent of influence of a foreign country' that was not identified.
- ^ "Chinese-American academic denies recruiting Singaporean as a spy". South China Morning Post. 2020-07-27. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- ^ "Huang Jing, Chinese-American academic expelled by Singapore, is working in Beijing and has 'no hard feelings'". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2020-07-14.