Renowned Chinese-American mathematician Zhang Yitang, aged 70, recently joined Sun Yat-sen University in a full-time capacity, appointed at the Sun Yat-sen University Hong Kong Advanced Institute. Unexpectedly, this move has stirred significant controversy within China, sparking debates on the topics of “spy theories” and “retirement theories,” leading the Chinese Communist Party media to come forward to dispel rumors. Experts analyzing the situation suggest that the backlash against “sea-returning” scholars within China is actually a result of actions taken by the CCP, and these scholars returning to the CCP system may ultimately face a tragic fate.
On July 3, the CCP’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily published a commentary titled “Beware of Four Types of Narratives Targeting ‘Sea-Returning’ Talents.”
The article mentions that the recent full-time appointment of world-renowned mathematician Zhang Yitang at Sun Yat-sen University has garnered both welcoming remarks online and skepticism from internet influencers accusing him of potentially returning as a spy or coming back to retire due to failure elsewhere.
Furthermore, the article outlines four prevalent narratives regarding sea-returning talents, including theories about returning to retire as “picking peaches,” viewing returnees as second-rate talents, labeling overseas education as an “original sin,” and depicting a clash between internal and external talents.
Born in 1955 in Chuansha County, Shanghai, Zhang Yitang’s parents hailed from Zhejiang. He lost his education during political movements in his youth and went on to study at Peking University’s Mathematics Department in 1978, pursuing undergraduate and graduate education. In the 1980s, he studied in the United States and in 2016, he became a tenured professor in the Mathematics Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In June 2025, he relocated with his family back to China, joining Sun Yat-sen University full-time at the Hong Kong Advanced Institute.
Canadian-Chinese writer Sheng Xue commented to Epoch Times that Zhang Yitang achieved success in the United States, and his return to China may stem from a sense of duty to serve the motherland. However, he could also have been enticed by significant benefits offered by the CCP, which are compelling to many.
Sheng Xue elaborates that any person with intelligence should see that Chinese society is currently in decline overall, with extreme authoritarian rule by the CCP shattering the ethical bottom line of human society repeatedly. She highlights the rampant incidents of young people being taken away on the streets and increasing cases of forced organ harvesting in China. Considering the prevailing conditions, it is challenging for individuals to accept the society under CCP rule. Zhang Yitang spending many years overseas could indeed raise suspicions upon his return to China.
Veteran commentator Tang Jingyuan, residing in the United States, informed Epoch Times that the public opinion storm surrounding the doubts about Zhang Yitang within China is fundamentally a consequence of CCP’s actions. Firstly, Xi Jinping’s eagerness to compete with the United States has incited a revival of the cultural revolution era’s fervor domestically, fostering blind xenophobia. Secondly, the CCP tends to recruit almost all overseas students or visiting scholars as spies, and many individuals willingly cooperate with the CCP to steal technological intelligence from other countries. In recent years, Western countries have heightened vigilance against Chinese scholars, restricting them from engaging in sensitive research, driving many to believe that staying abroad holds no value and returning to China is the better choice.
During the peak of the US-China trade war in April this year, Dong Mingzhu, the Chairwoman of Zhuhai Gree Electric Appliances, publicly declared that Gree would not employ sea-returning talents because they might include “spies,” sparking controversy.
Moreover, with Xi Jinping’s close ally Chen Yixin heading the CCP State Security Ministry, the power of the State Security Bureau has expanded beyond traditional intelligence realms. Following the enactment of the amended “Anti-Espionage Law” on July 1, 2023, the CCP’s State Security Ministry initiated a wave of mass movements to “catch spies,” and for the first time, established a WeChat public account for regular interventions across various sectors.
In an article published by the CCP’s official newspaper, it was proclaimed that the State Security Ministry aims to oppose subversion, hegemony, separatism, terrorism, and espionage, seeking to “remove nails” and “root out internal traitors.”
Tang Jingyuan notes that the statements from the State Security Ministry and Dong Mingzhu are just the tip of the iceberg, indicating that mainland China has fostered a political environment characterized by blind xenophobia and anti-Western political fanaticism. Should Zhang Yitang remain overseas, he would be a respected scholar standing freely, but upon returning to mainland China, he could potentially be reduced to a tool of the CCP regime.
While the US tightens scrutiny on scientists with Chinese backgrounds, the CCP is actively enticing foreign scholars with lucrative funds. Over the past year, several top Chinese scientists have returned to China to work, predominantly in fields like mathematics and physics, garnering extensive coverage in mainland and Hong Kong media.
Sheng Xue emphasizes that early overseas scholars who may have studied and worked in the US have likely been under some control by the CCP, which may have also provided them with benefits. If the CCP demands these individuals to return and advocate for them with their research findings and influence, they would be hard-pressed to refuse, being trapped in a difficult situation.
Liberal legal scholar Yuan Hongbing, based in Australia, previously stated to Epoch Times that CCP’s sea-returning individuals can be categorized into two groups. The first group comprises those sent overseas on official duty, possessing dual identities as overseas students and linchpins or operatives of various CCP spy agencies, closely affiliated with CCP espionage institutions, and they are considered “one of their own” by the CCP. The second group consists of privately funded students studying abroad, who upon returning are subjected to extreme suspicion by the CCP, internal monitoring, and control by secret police.
Historically, during political movements within the CCP, it was the advanced talents who returned to China that faced persecution. According to a report by the CCP’s official newspaper Science Daily, during the Cultural Revolution, 131 scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences were denounced, with 229 individuals persecuted to death. Records from author Cao Pu during the Cultural Revolution era depict a large banner at the Welfare Building in Zhongguancun that read “Those who come are not good, and the good do not come,” sending chills down the spines of many returning scientists when seeing it. At that time, virtually all individuals returning from overseas were suspected of being “spies,” with a common phrase circulating that “those who return from abroad are spies, and those released from prison are traitors.”
Sheng Xue highlights that the CCP has a history of luring many scholars back to China with sweet words, only to subject them to brutal persecution later on. Given the current decline in China’s national strength, the CCP is once again calling back these individuals to support them, injecting fresh blood into the system. However, it should be noted that the CCP is now facing intense internal struggles, resulting in societal conflicts for survival. These scholars who return from overseas could potentially become sacrificial pawns in the CCP’s internal power struggles once their utility has been exhausted.
Tang Jingyuan also expressed that these scientists face political risks in China due to the inherent anti-scientific nature of the CCP regime. Apart from the disparities in research environments and advanced countries, the CCP’s leadership, oblivious to the experts’ field, and the complex interpersonal relationships within its system, could potentially crush these scientists. The majority of scholars who return to the CCP system may likely face tragic outcomes.