Beijing/New York/London | A Chinese scholar who was one of the most prominent critics of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been forced into early retirement, becoming the latest victim of a crackdown by Beijing on academics.
Hu Wei, a top government adviser, sparked fierce online debate in China at the outbreak of the war in 2022 by calling for Beijing to “cut off as soon as possible” its ties with Vladimir Putin, a position that ran directly against Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s policy of closely courting the Russian president.
