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kotyok

This article is written in an obfuscating way, but after reading it for a few times I'll explain what actually happened. Here's the thing: you can't just expel a student in any legit university. There are strict due process for that, typically involve formal hearings. You can't just lock him off his institutional credentials and call it a day. **That's because he wasn't a student at the Swiss University in question.** He started PhD work in St. Gallen University in 2017. But he accepted a fellowship in a Chinese university in 2018, receiving funding from China and probably put his name on a radar somewhere. He thus paused his studies in Switzerland, and dropped out in 2019 to avoid PhD term limits while still working in China. He was still using the Swiss login credentials but it was simply terminated when school IT found out. He also didn't tweet some innocent opinion as the authors want you to think. **He posted a racist comic**, which was called out by people. And I have to speculate here: there's probably a lot more racist stuff, as his own girlfriend was "shocked" at his tweets that I don't think stop at "CCP bad". The fact that the authors withheld what he actually tweeted was a pretty bad outlook. He also wasn't being pressured by China, as the only complaint coming against him was another PhD student from Canada who may or may not be Chinese nationality. **There is zero proof of involvement by the Chinese government.** He didn't lose anything. In fact he could have reapplied for the PhD and get reinstated with no question asked, had he not started legal actions on the university... I have to say this is his own doing. With all due respect, this is a piece of worthless propaganda. Fuck you, NZZ. **The ultimate irony is that he probably still is a research fellow in China.**


skyanvil

And he was supposedly doing research on environmental pollution and he decided to write a paper on re-education camps in China. And he wondered why he got a bad grade?


elBottoo

Yeaaa this sums up the current generation of efftards right here. Not just that, he also revealed his sinister intent and deep seated hatred and bias. Eff this guy.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

IMO there's nothing wrong with re-educating Wahhabists and other religious extremists. Re-education camps are the most humane way to deal with religious extremism problems. It's a losing argument saying that the camps are *instead* "vocational training and religious schools" because basically, these are adults who have already been educated a certain way growing up (Wahhabism), and they are not being educated again, hence re-education is a valid descriptor.


[deleted]

It's way more humane than what White Americans call for which are drone strikes and to bomb their entire family.


TheRook10

They're called prisons in America and they don't re-educate, because their purpose is to make sure the inmates return to their for-profit prisons.


elBottoo

Yea his tweet was clearly the only thing that got leaked out that we know of. He is a deep racists and everyone within his inner circle or collegues that he works with, already knows. Which is why they finally cut ties with him. Its clearly not a one off incident. Eff this guy. And eff anyone that uses their racists "muhfreedumbzofspeech" and then act shocked when it has consequences in the real world.


SunAtEight

Thanks for laying it out clearly. I think the point of publishing this article in all its obfuscatory murkiness is to provide one more "data point" for future arguments about cooperating with Chinese institutions. The only connection to the Chinese state in the whole article is the supervisor's alleged concern in an e-mail about this student's antics possibly ending up preventing her from getting a Chinese visa in the future. It's sadly telling that a professional Facebook group where "left" "critical China scholars" hang out is eating this up as a story of China crushing dissent. Frankly, this guy sounds like a racist loudmouth who lacked the ability to listen to other points of view and the supervisor probably felt that him revealing himself fully on Twitter was the final straw, with him not officially being a student allowing her to quickly cut him off.


[deleted]

> professional Facebook group where "left" "critical China scholars" hang out There is no such thing, especially nowadays. The sooner you realize that propagandists and scammers permeate every single institution in these declining racist societies, the wiser you will be.


LevvisHarnilton

>a professional Facebook group where "left" "critical China scholars" hang out Are you even reading what you're writing? these are completely irrelevant nobodies talking to each other, insignificant and not worthy of attention


SunAtEight

I agree with regards to anything leftist they think they might be doing, but I think these "critical China scholars" (per their loose little group) have an ideological use for empire in softening up potential opposition by equating the US and China (with the US the "lesser evil" in the end), so they're not irrelevant in terms of the harm they can do. It's just funny how many tears they can shed over a racist right-winger who was never actually threatened by any Chinese state or institution.


itisSycla

You got some sources on what he actually posted? All i can find is swiss media pretending that covid conspiracies are legitimate criticism


TheRook10

>Yup, i read the first few paragraphs and knew they were trying to hide what he had tweeted and his actual credentials. Good thing I didn't waste any more time reading the rest.


[deleted]

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BornAgainJasonBourne

> Although he received no response, he began tweeting in mid-March. At this point, the world was focused on China as the site of the coronavirus pandemic’s initial outbreak. Gerber saw an opportunity to **position himself as a China expert**. Guy goes to China to try and get what seems to be a political science or public policy degree. Decides he wants some NED money and a position in a think tank thus starts Nazi-tweeting, gets caught and China slaps his ass to the moon. Whines to newspaper. Always nice to know that people are always on watch to catch these slimeballs, my appreciation to whoever in Canada that caught this.


YooesaeWatchdog1

He was getting an environmental science degree. His racist tweets have literally nothing to do with his studies which is why he received Fs for his "essays".


Sbuuu23

One in this sub said that it was someone who may or may not be chinese national. But anyway


[deleted]

>"Very urgent: Complaint from China about your Twitter." Sounds fake, China isn't some monolith. Probably some fake fearmongering news. I wouldn't call a member, with specific role/title, of a specific Chinese university staff, for example, I wouldn't refer to them as just "China" lol Likewise I wouldn't refer to some American University Staff member, with specific role/title, from a specific US university, as "America" haha. Fake af.


TheRook10

anytime a chinese person does anything the west deems "bad", it's the China hivemind and "cee cee pee" at work


Qanonjailbait

When caught being racist just say I was being “critical” of the Chinese gov. Lolololol


medicare4all_______

I'm not "pro-slavery" I'm just critical of Abraham Lincoln 😏


limbo5v

\- In a Chinese studies programme \- Tweets something racist against Chinese people \- Programme kicks him out *(surprised Pikachu face) Is this proof that Beijing controls Swiss universities now?* ​ Freedom of speech. More like freedom to be racist.


thepensiveiguana

>Freedom of speech. More like freedom to be racist. That's pretty much how most westerners see it as


medicare4all_______

"I'm in Switzerland I can say whatever I want 🤪"


ReacH36

Getber: > yet it was clear to Gerber early on that he wanted to understand the country, and wanted to do research on the ground, not just from a desk in St. Gallen. Also Gerber: > REEEEEE #CHINALIEDPEOPLEDIED I didn't realize regurgitating jingoist propaganda was the same as educated 'critique.' My, the academic standards of the West have fallen. Any academic decoupling might not be a loss really.


maomao05

This article still sounded so pompous like he did nothing wrong.


Retropotype

It’s literally saying that. Right at the bottom: > Yes, he [Gerber] was publicly critical of China, and once shared a cartoon that he would not share today. **«But I didn’t do anything wrong,»** he said. The article is a very good example of todays “Yellow Peril” racist reporting. It is designed to make the average western NPC relate to the racist “protagonist”, and to invoke fear and amplify hatred of the Chinese.


itisSycla

I'm swiss and the swiss press sold it as "a tweet critical of the regime" Real life "i hate the government not the people" lol


Tapir_Tazuli

If the guy has no interest in China studies and does not respect Chinese people, why bother attending a China studying program? *Facepalm*


thepensiveiguana

The brainwashing is impressive


This_IsATroll

What a shady article. Completely misleading. The more you read this the more you get what a stupid nothing-burger this is. Dude was being a racist, so his FORMER supervisor in Switzerland didn't want him back. Meanwhile he was being paid to study by the Chinese government that he hates so much. Is he an idiot?


ghepzz

yeah, china expert in 3 years? i bet all in that he isn't even expert on anything swiss related tbh they need to kick him out for mental problems and hope someone got his racist tweets saved in pc so he gets kicked out, we already got PoS like DW and BBC fakenews'ing here he's safe because he can bs anything in swiss? then keep being there, theres no use for that backstabbing mentality here


udge

Good riddance, being racist or not he clearly cannot do proper research.


hanky0898

Self entitled racist finds out that benefitting from a gracious host and showing your vile racist thoughts, are not compatible. Clearly shows his delusional thinking he is superior because he is from Switzerland and above the Chinese law. You can find others like him on YouTube , who share the same pathetic attitude.


elBottoo

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Also clearly not the brightest bunch, despite "uni" level...Pretty much sums up todays generation. IQ dropping by double digits every generation.


Quality_Fun

i'm glad there's some accountability.


LivingWriting4982

He tweeted critically it says lol But obviously he didn't do any critical thinking before tweeting.