NASA may need a new PR team. After announcing that no Chinese nationals would be welcome at a conference on exoplanets, then being hit by a wave of negative publicity and sardonic comments or outright protests from international scientists, they eventually rescinded the decision.
The agency blamed a "misinterpretation" of new US rules on the presence of foreign nationals, but gave no explanation as to why the ban would have been selectively applied only to Chinese scientists, with applications from other foreign nationals accepted.
The blunder comes on the heels of the arrest of Bo Jiang, a Chinese contractor working for NASA, in March. Bo, initially accused of espionage and lying to federal officials, was released by a judge after no evidence was found of any classified materials.
In fact, Bo had never worked on sensitive material in the first place. In the end he was issued a vindictive misdemeanor charge after his laptop proved to be full of porn and pirated movies - totally unlike any other young male NASA scientist, for sure.
The witch hunt at NASA, in particular, has been led by Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican representative from Virginia. Wolf, a Cold War veteran, is an outspoken critic of China and likens working with Beijing to "working with Stalin."
His concerns seem to stem from ideological purity rather than genuine scientific or security concerns.
Judging by his voting record, which includes enthusiastic support for the security state and consistent opposition to equal marriage and women's freedom to choose, Wolf is more concerned with the rights of Chinese than those of Americans.
Wolf tacked on a critical amendment to a 2011 bill making it hard for NASA to cooperate with its Chinese colleagues, much to the dismay of many space scientists who take a broader-minded viewpoint.
Of course, the US has every right to exclude foreign nationals, especially from nations with a record of intellectual espionage, from sensitive areas. Pro forma denials from the relevant authorities aside, such espionage is a real problem for many states.
China, while it welcomes foreign scientists in order to try and catch up on its technological and talent deficits, still screens off certain areas, just as all countries do.
Yet while reasonable security concerns are one thing; the demonization of Chinese scientists and scholars is another.
The NASA conference wasn't a technologically focused one nor did it touch upon particularly sensitive fields; it was an astrological convention on exoplanets, those worlds beyond our own solar system.
Were the NASA authorities concerned that China might gain valuable information about reaching Alpha Centauri before the US, thus winning a space victory?
Paradoxically, US universities and scientists are keenly courting Chinese funding and talent, even as the US authorities become more concerned about security.
Those concerns might be valid in some areas. But space exploration is supposed to be one of the areas that brings humanity together, not an opportunity for nationalist point-scoring.
China has been consistently more vocal than the US in calling for the demilitarization of space, but both powers are nominally committed to a vision of multilateral cooperation for the future benefit of all of humanity.
We should applaud, however, the many US astronomers and NASA affiliates who protested against this move, some even saying they would stay away from the conference unless their Chinese colleagues were allowed to attend. I believe the majority of NASA shares this spirit.
More than anything else, this unity in the face of beleaguered comrades represents the true spirit of academic and scientific solidarity.
The NASA conference blunder comes down to a mix of bureaucracy, bad PR, and political point-scoring. At a time when academic freedoms are under threat worldwide, the US should stand up for its own values and not be caught in the trap of paranoia and misunderstanding.
The author is an editor with the Global Times. jamespalmer@globaltimes.com.cn