Hu Hao

Hu Hao

Independent academic

Hu Hao graduated from Peking University with a Masters in Law. He was formerly an assistant researcher at a tertiary institution in China. Hu writes political commentaries for Lianhe Zaobao, Apple Daily and China News. He is currently an independent academic based in the US.

Charles Lieber leaves federal court after he and two Chinese nationals were charged with lying about their alleged links to the Chinese government, in Boston, Massachusetts, US, 30 January 2020. (Katherine Taylor/Reuters)

US must not be naive about intentions of China’s Thousand Talents Plan

The recent conviction of former Harvard department head Charles Lieber has cast the spotlight once again on China’s Thousand Talents Plan to attract global scientific talent to contribute their expertise to China. The American scientific community is pushing back against some of the US government’s harsh reprisals, but Hu Hao says strong action is warranted as the threat of authoritarian regimes seeking to gain technical knowledge to threaten democratic and liberal values is real.
A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears an oversize "Make America Great Again Hat" as he waits for the start of a "Keep America Great" rally at Southern New Hampshire University Arena on 10 February 2020 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP)

Covid-19: US needs to revive its manufacturing industry and rebuild itself

US-based academic Hu Hao warns that the US needs to diversify its supply chains and revive its manufacturing industry, particularly in the medical sector, if it does not wish to let its major competitor China have undue leverage during times of emergency and beyond.
A security guard in a mask looks out from the Jingshan park overlooking the Forbidden city (center) after a snowfall in Beijing, February 2020. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP)

Who should apologise for the term 'sick man of Asia'?

Amid the furore over The Wall Street Journal’s controversial “sick man of Asia” headline, Hu Hao points out that going back to history, the term may have first been coined by a Chinese thinker seeking to galvanise change in society. Instead of physical attributes, it referred to the apathetic, backward, and foolish mindsets of Chinese who were passive and indifferent towards the authoritarian regime they were living under. He asks if the China of today is indeed no longer the "sick man"? And if the Wall Street Journal should indeed apologise as the Chinese government has demanded?