Why did Harvard top mathematician Liu Jun leave the US for China?

SCMP | Sept. 11, 2025, 9 a.m. | Original
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Liu Jun, one of the world’s leading statisticians and a longtime professor at Harvard University, has returned to China full time, accepting a prestigious chair at Tsinghua University last month. Photo: Handout

When it was officially announced in late August that statistician Liu Jun had left Harvard University and joined Tsinghua University in Beijing, speculation ran rampant.

For Liu, the answer is simple – and deeply personal.

It “has nothing to do with Trump”, he said in an email to the South China Morning Post, explaining that his decision was not out of political protest or professional disillusionment, but because of family and a lifelong bond with the Tsinghua campus where he was born.

On September 7, the Post published the story of Liu Jun’s return to China , which spurred heated discussions on social media and online forums, especially in the academic world.

Liu responded on September 9 to the Post’s email query.

Liu Jun (left) says his decision to return to China after decades of academia in the US was deeply personal and had nothing to do with rising geopolitical tensions. Photo: Handout
Liu Jun (left) says his decision to return to China after decades of academia in the US was deeply personal and had nothing to do with rising geopolitical tensions. Photo: Handout

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