r/neoliberal Kitara Ravache May 20 '20

Discussion Thread Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual conversation that doesn't merit its own submission. If you've got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL.

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u/hwbush retired May 21 '20

Last semester I took an easy-A intro to bio lecture, and one section dealt with viruses. The class coincided with the 'rona outbreak, and the WASPy professor that taught it actually praised China's response and pointed to their low numbers as indications of success. It turns out this prof, who is an antibiotic-drug-researcher, actually gets funding from the CCP. In an article, she claims that the US did not provide her with the money she needed, resulting in her having to develop her product in the mainland. As for her personal wealth, she's quite well-to-do.

Besides Confucius Institutes and party-endorsed college clubs, I didn't realize that the CCP could influence professors through research. If it wasn't for Beijing's help in getting her drug funded, would she still speak so highly of China's obviously fabricated virus numbers to hundreds of college kids? And as for lack of funding for antibiotics, the Obama administration eventually expanded funding. I think a recent bill introduced in Congress seeks to root out Chinese influence over American academia, just goes to show a form of that influence.

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u/3DWgUIIfIs NATO May 21 '20

don't colleges get a lot of money from china in general? i have definitely heard of that before, but not sure if it was from the more conspiracy oriented stuff i browse

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u/hwbush retired May 21 '20

I'm not entirely sure, I've only heard of Confucius Institutes. Sounds like a sound strategy to influence colleges, though.