Rory Truex

Because the Chinese Communist Party is among the world’s most secretive political organizations, China watchers jump on any new piece of information that might imply something about the country’s direction. Today, we were given an unexpected detail. In the middle of today’s session of the 20th Communist Party Congress, former General Secretary Hu Jintao was abruptly escorted off stage. Hu initially appeared to resist being moved, and two men pulled him up rather gruffly.

In what is becoming a familiar scene in American higher education, a Chinese-born scientist at a high-profile university was recently arrested for his ties to the Chinese government. About a month ago, Gang Chen, a naturalized American citizen and highly respected professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, was indicted by a grand jury for “failing to disclose contracts, appointments and awards from various entities in the People’s Republic of China.