The new Florida university has fired Chinese professors under state law that restricts Florida public universities from hiring individuals they believe are from “countries of interest.”
On Friday, Suncoast Searchlight reported the firing of Kevin Wang, a professor who seeks asylum in the United States and is permitted to work in the country. According to the outlet, Wang had been teaching Chinese and cultural classes for nearly two years when he was fired on March 12th.
According to his firing letter reviewed by Suncoast Searchlight, the decision of the new College of Florida to terminate the King’s contract “is not based on fraud and does not constitute a dismissal for cause or disciplinary action.”
Instead, the university cited state law SB 846. This states that schools cannot “accept or participate in contracts with foreign-based universities or universities of concern” without the approval of the board.
According to the law, so-called “states of concern” include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria.
The law, which came into effect in July 2023, prevents state universities from entering into partnerships with “people who reside in a foreign country of concern and are not US citizens or legal permanent residents.”
Suncoast Searchlight reports that Wang, who was hired to a new Florida university three weeks after state law came into effect, said he was a university professor in China before coming to the US in May 2022.
“I faced political crackdowns from the Chinese Communist Party for criticizing Xi Jinping and the CCP’s domestic and foreign policy, resulting in the loss of my educational status and the freedom to teach, study and express myself in China,” Wang told the outlet.
“I have never faced such a tragic experience after fleeing the persecution of China’s CCP, but I will only encounter a somewhat similar situation at New College in the US,” he added.
According to the King, he is preparing to leave Florida, but will remain in the United States as he continues to pursue his asylum bid.
“As an auxiliary, I don’t have much time or energy to dig deep into this issue… but I really hope that such interference that undermines academic freedom doesn’t happen again in places where it claims to be a “beacon of democracy,” Wang told Suncoast Searchlight.
As part of the culture war of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida, the war with “worry” at various institutions, including the university, and the new University of Florida, a historically liberal school of art, has hired ideologically right-wing faculty and staff for various positions in recent months.
In November, the university revived a course on “hobbies” taught by Andrew Doyle, whom British comedian and historian Andrew Doyle described as “a cult like disciples.”
Meanwhile, last September, the university hosted Steve Sailor, accused of being a “white supremacist,” at a public event that “periods of enhanced activity correlate with increased crime rates.”
