He Weifang, Beijing University law professor and signatory of the Charter 08 petition, has transferred to Shihezi University in Xinjiang as “pressure from above and below” compelled him to go. From Telegraph:
He Weifang, 49, a celebrated law professor from Beijing University Law School, packed his bags and set off for two years in the outlying province of Xinjiang where he will teach at a provincial university far from China’s political centre.
Prof He, a lead signatory of the Charter 08 petition in which hundreds of leading academics called for democratic reform, has refused to withdraw his support for the manifesto despite being interrogated by the Chinese police.
[…]Officially Prof He’s transfer to Shihezi University in Xinjiang is part of an ‘academic co-operation’ programme but colleagues and co-signatories said the posting of such an eminent professor to such a distant corner of China was intended as clear expression of Party disapproval.
