C&EN: "Charles Lieber plans talks with the University of Hong Kong"

Via C&EN's Bethany Halford, this unusual news: 

Charles Lieber, a renowned chemist formerly of Harvard University, was convicted in 2021 of making false statements related to his work with a university in China. He is now exploring a job in the country.

According to documents filed by a probation officer, Lieber asked for permission to travel to China for 6 days in July “to discuss potential faculty appointment and employment opportunities at the University of Hong Kong, and to deliver a scientific talk to the faculty and students.” Lieber retired from his position at Harvard in February 2023.

The case against Lieber began in January 2020, when the US government charged him with fraud for making false statements about his ties to China’s Thousand Talents Program to investigators from the US National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense—agencies that funded Lieber’s research.

Full article here. I genuinely don't know what to think about all of this, other than to note that Fraser Stoddart is also at the University of Hong Kong, and so they clearly have a goal of hiring prominent chemists. Here's hoping it works out, I guess.