Harvard professor charged with hiding China ties

BOSTON (AP) — A Harvard University professor has been c harged with lying about his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program and concealing payments he received from the Chinese government for research, federal officials said Tuesday.

Charles Lieber, chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology, is accused of hiding his involvement in China's Thousand Talents Plan, a program designed to recruit people with access to and knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property.

Lieber was arrested early Tuesday at his office at the Ivy League university, officials said. He was expected to appear in court later Tuesday. His attorney didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Authorities also announced charges against a researcher at Boston University, who is accused of lying about her ties to the Chinese military. Yanqing Ye, who prosecutors say is a lieutenant in the People's Liberation Army, did work on behalf of the military while studying at the university, like conducting research and sending documents and information to China, officials said.

There was no attorney listed for Ye in court documents.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling called the charges “a small sample of China's ongoing campaign to siphon off America's technology and know-how for its country's gain.”

“No country poses a greater, more severe or long term threat to our national security and economic prosperity than China,” said Boston FBI agent Joseph Bonavolonta. “China’s communist government's goal, simply put, is to replace the U.S. as the world superpower, and they are breaking the law to get there,” he said.

Under Lieber's Thousand Talents program contract, prosecutors say, he was paid $50,000 a month by the Wuhan University of Technology in China and living...