SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Hello, everyone!

Texas A&M professor and NASA researcher, Zhengdong Cheng, was accused of wire fraud, conspiracy and false statements in August 2020 following the pattern of similar accusations from the Justice Department against Chinese scholars and researchers.

Today, he pleaded guilty to violating NASA regulations and falsifying official documents.

In 2020, prosecutors claimed that Cheng violated government and NASA grant restrictions that required him to cease any collaboration or coordination with China, Chinese institutions or any Chinese-owned company; they cited his work as a director of a soft matter institute at a technology university in Guangdong, China, and his work in forming a tech company dedicated to designing microfluidic chips.

Spotlight 💡
 

• Amnesty International has demanded that the Vietnamese government disclose their treatment of Vietnamese activist Trinh Ba Tu, who is currently serving his eight-year sentence. Information gathered by the human rights watchdog claim that Trinh was physically beaten and kept in solitary confinement for documenting his experiences and the conditions of the prison.

Race in America 🌎
 

• On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted to move U.S. District Judge Florence Pan to the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., making Pan the first Chinese American to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. 

• Recently, San Francisco’s Japantown received a new wave of state funding, meaning that their renovation projects for Peace Plaza can move forward. With an additional $6 million to revitalize construction, Peace Plaza, which holds emotional and historical significance for the region’s Japanese American community, will see another era of preservation. 

In Other Asian News 🗞
 

• In Korea, a court ruled that a hospital’s refusal to operate on a man with HIV was discriminatory. The National Human Rights Commission in Korea recommended the institution to review training sessions for employees on treating patients with HIV. 

• The Philippine government shut down 175 of its offshore gambling firms under its new project to shut down the pervasive online gaming industry. As a result: 40,000 Chinese workers were laid off. 

Entertainment 📺
 

• Tennis star Emma Radcanu retired from the Korea Open after her injury continued to be aggravated during competition. 

• Constance Wu, who made waves during the summer over her tweets about the “Fresh Off the Boat” renewal, came out this week with allegations of sexual harassment against one of the producers on the series. 

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• China’s first MMA champion, Tang Kai, was well-received by a mob of fans after returning to his home country. 

• The popular anime “Jujutsu Kaisen” aims to return with a second season that runs for half a year without any breaks.

• As Asian countries open up their borders to foreign tourists, islands like Koh Tao in Thailand are reconsidering its ability to handle tourism and environmentalism. 

• If you plan on asking for forks at Japanese convenience stores, be prepared to receive chopsticks instead. The swap comes with the government’s plan to reduce plastic waste. 

• Climate change is affecting everyone, everywhere. Even the highest peaks of the globe, like Mount Everest, cannot escape the reality of carbon emissions.