NASA confirms decision to lift ban on prohibiting Chinese from attending conference
U.S. space agency NASA confirmed Tuesday that it has "corrected" a decision to ban six Chinese researchers from attending a conference on exoplanet research next month.
"Yes, the scientists of Chinese origin who initially were excluded from applying to attend the Kepler Science Conference at the NASA's Ames Research Center next month now are able to apply," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said.
In an email to Xinhua, Beutel said the initial decision was " unfortunate" and based on "a misinterpretation" of the agency's policy related to foreign nationals' access to NASA facilities.
"The interpretation was clarified and the decision corrected once the federal government reopened last Thursday," he said.
One of the six Chinese researchers who are originally banned from attending the NASA conference told Xinhua Tuesday he has got security clearance from the space agency.
"Yes, everything is cleared," said the researcher, who refused to be named. "I'll be there (the Kepler conference)."
Before it, NASA sent the six Chinese researchers a letter informing them that their applications for the conference were " being reviewed for clearance."
"We ... are pleased to inform you that this decision has been reversed," the letter said. "We hope you will be able to join us and celebrate the science enabled by Kepler."
At present, it's not immediately known if all of the initially banned Chinese researchers are allowed to attend the Kepler Science Conference, which is scheduled for November at NASA's Ames Research Center in California.
The ban, based on a controversial law passed in 2011 that prohibits government funds from being used to host Chinese nationals at NASA facilities, sparked a boycott of the meeting from several prominent American scientists, including Professor Debra Fischer of Yale University, and Professor Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley.
Gregory Kulacki, a senior analyst with the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, believed that recent problems arising from the ban should be served as a wake-up call for "a few individuals within the United States Congress, in particular Congressman Frank Wolf," who crafted the law.
Kulacki said the language of the law is "so broad, and the legal and financial penalties associated with potential violations so threatening, that even U.S. organizations not directly administered by NASA are afraid to reach out to colleagues in China."
He warned that until the legislation is removed, these kinds of incidents will "remain a constant feature" of U.S.-China relations in space.
相关新闻：美国航天局禁止中国人参加天文会议的风波暂告一段落。一名曾被拒绝与会的旅美中国研究人员22日告诉新华社记者，美航天局已通过了对他的安全审查，这意味着他可以参加会议。美航天局同日也证实，最初被禁止参会的中国籍科学家“现在可以申请了”。
上述不愿意透露姓名的中国研究人员当天在一封电子邮件中说：“一切都通过了。”当记者问他是否会去参加会议时，他简短地回答：“要去。”
美国航天局发言人阿拉德•比特尔当天也向记者表示，最初(禁止中国籍研究人员参加第二届开普勒科学会议)的决定是“不幸的”，是出于对外国公民访问美国航天局设施政策的“错误理解”。美国政府17日重新开门后，美国航天局“纠正了上述决定”。
这一天文会议将于11月4日至8日在位于加利福尼亚州的美国航天局艾姆斯研究中心举行，目前尚不清楚之前被拒的6名中国研究人员是否已全都获准参会。
今年9月底，美国航天局援引2011年首次通过的对华航天合作禁令(即“沃尔夫条款”)，拒绝6名中国研究人员参加第二届开普勒科学会议，引起多位美英著名科学家不满，并号召抵制会议。
在巨大的舆论压力下，发起禁令的议员沃尔夫与美国航天局局长查尔斯•博尔登纷纷认“错”，称禁令不涉及中国个别人员的活动，“除非他们是中国政府的官方代表”。但美国专家表示，此禁令涵盖范围“非常广泛”，导致美国航天机构都害怕跟中国打交道，禁令不废除，类似问题可能层出不穷。(新华网)
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