SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Pompeo alleges UW didn’t help student detained in China to preserve ‘multi-million dollar deal’

Dec 10, 2020, 12:48 PM

Mike Pompeo...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo levied criticism against the University of Washington on Wednesday, accusing the university of failing to render aid to one of its students, Vera Zhou, after she was detained by the Chinese government in 2017.

UW responds to pressure from Trump administration to reopen

In a speech delivered at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Pompeo alleged that the UW balked at rendering assistance to Zhou to preserve an alleged “multi-million dollar deal” between the university and Beijing.

“Now, thank God, Vera was eventually released, and returned to the U.S,” Pompeo said. “But no thanks to the University of Washington, and no thanks to its deal with China.”

“What more bad decisions will schools make because they are hooked on Chinese Communist Party cash?,” he continued. “What professors will they be able to co-opt or to silence? What theft and espionage will they simply overlook? What business deals will get done as a result of that?”

The UW issued a statement shortly after Pompeo’s speech, saying that his allegations represent “the latest false statement and shameful deflection from an administration whose State Department and Department of Education took no effective action on behalf of Vera Zhou in response to the University’s requests, and now wishes to shift attention from that failure.”

“That the Secretary of State would think a university has more power in this situation than the United States government is bizarre,” the university added, going on to deny knowledge of any “multi-million dollar deal” between the UW and China that would have compromised the university’s efforts to save Zhou.

Ursula: Making students pay full tuition during pandemic is unethical

Zhou — who became a permanent U.S. resident in 2010 — was a junior at the UW when she was taken by Chinese authorities in October 2017 while visiting her father in Xinjiang. She was arrested for using an illegal VPN to log into an online portal for the UW to turn in her homework.

Shortly after being interrogated, Zhou was sent to a reeducation camp, where she was held in a cell with 11 other women, and forced to watch and study pro-Chinese government propaganda. Zhou’s mother called on the UW to step in and help bring her back to the United States, but was rebuffed, with the university claiming there was little it could do without the State Department’s aid, given that Zhou wasn’t a U.S. citizen.

Zhou was released by the Chinese government after two years in custody, and now resides in Vancouver, Wash., with her mother. According to the UW, she is again enrolled at the school as of this quarter.

seattle police chief shon barnes...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘It’s not a problem until it’s a problem’: Jake questions if Seattle police chief job is right for Barnes after heated exchange with reporter

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes got into a heated exchange with a reporter following a news conference on a mass shooting at the Seattle Center.

20 minutes ago

Pierce Transit...

Paola Tristan Arruda, KIRO 7 News

Measure to expand Pierce Transit service on Nov. 3 Ballot

Pierce County voters will decide in November whether to approve a sales tax increase to expand bus and transit services.

1 hour ago

FILE - President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive during a state dinner ...

Associated Press

US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions, documents say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts. The administration notified Congress late […]

2 hours ago

weather...

Meteorologist Nick Allard, KIRO 7 News

Quiet summer weather pattern continues in western Washington

If you’re wondering whether there’s any big weather on the horizon, the answer is ... not really.

2 hours ago

Individuals peek over the fence to see the drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,, Monday, July ...

Associated Press

Ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool sees ‘irregularities’ in grand jury proceedings

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Olympian charged with deliberately damaging the the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seeking access to all of the closed-door testimony that led to his indictment, pointing to “irregularities” in those grand jury proceedings. In a court filing Monday, David Hearn’s attorneys requested an order for the government to turn over […]

3 hours ago

bite of seattle shooting briefing...

Luke Duecy

Police told reporters Seattle shooting briefing was delayed for ‘dignitaries,’ but Wilson says that’s not what happened

Three people were killed, and four others were wounded in a mass shooting at Seattle's Bite of Seattle, leaving city leaders facing questions.

3 hours ago

Pompeo alleges UW didn’t help student detained in China to preserve ‘multi-million dollar deal’