Harvard University recently hosted a high-level official from China who has repeatedly praised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Reuters reported.
Song Tao, a senior official of the CCP’s International Department, attended a conference at the prestigious Ivy League school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Participants in the conference discussed the future of East Asia and the implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
At the event, Song was given an honorary degree from Harvard and was praised by school president Drew Faust for his role in “initiatives that build bridges across cultures and countries,” according to the university’s website.
In a statement, Harvard said that Song and the other Chinese officials who attended the conference “engaged in a series of fruitful discussions with Harvard faculty and students.”
The decision to host Song, who heads an arm of the CCP responsible for cultivating parties in other countries, was met with some criticism. It comes at a time of intensifying tensions between the United States and China, with the two countries trading sharp words over trade, human rights, and other issues.
