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Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022
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Students work to get peers registered to vote
Africana Theater Lab hosts first-ever Masquerade Ball
VOL. 106, ISSUE 7
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And they all looked like Laura Ingalls
Tough start to the season still brings a big win for Salukis
Mathematics professor caught up in “China Initiative” speaks out
Photo of Professor Mingqing Xiao provided by Kara Benyas Annie Hammock ahammock@dailyegyptian.com
The applied mathematics professor caught up in a “xenophobic” government sweep of Chinese academics will not be serving any jail time. Mingqing Xiao was sentenced to one year probation and a fine, with court fees, of about $2,300. Xiao’s friends and colleagues say the emphasis now will
be getting Southern Illinois University (SIU) to take him off paid administrative leave. “His union attorney, union representative, the SIU Faculty Association, the SIU Faculty Senate, his Math department colleagues and many of us will continue to work to get Ming back in the classroom doing what he does best,” said music professor Ed Benyas. Xiao was one of dozens of
U.S. educators arrested as part of the Justice Department’s “China Initiative,” ostensibly designed to weed out academics who may be selling intellectual property to the Beijing government. Xiao was cleared of all charges related to such activity, but was found guilty on a minor tax charge because he did not check a box indicating he had a foreign bank account.
That account had been set up by a Chinese university to cover Xiao’s expenses during teaching and recruiting visits, which were interrupted by the COVID pandemic. Xiao told investigators he never considered the money his. “The tax charges that the government added on the eve of a trial that they were not ready for, in an effort to get him to plead guilty, reflected
innocent omissions that in the vast majority of cases are resolved in civil court, not with a federal criminal indictment,” Benyas said. Community members submitted 27 letters of support for Xiao at his sentencing hearing Monday. “Judge Yandle’s sentence definitely indicates that she recognizes Ming’s outstanding character, his support from the community, and his dedication to his family and his students,” Benyas said. But, Benyas said, it’s important to remember the government made Xiao a convicted felon. “This was undoubtedly a xenophobic and prejudicial prosecution of an upstanding Chinese American citizen who loves his country,” Benyas said. “And the government doubled down in the sentencing phase, asking the judge to send Ming to prison for a year and to pay a fine of over $50,000… This entire ordeal is a travesty of justice.” There is more work left to be done, he said. “Let’s also not forget: Ming still has an enormous legal bill to resolve. And he still has to fight to get his job back,” Benyas said. A GoFundMe has been set up to help Xiao cover those legal expenses. It is at just a fraction of its $350,000 goal. Faculty Managing Editor Annie Hammock can be reached at ahammock@ dailyegyptian.com
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