NASA's decision to ban Chinese scientists from an upcoming science conference has been highly criticized.
Six Chinese participants have been banned by NASA to attend the Kepler conference, scheduled to take place at NASA's Ames Research Center in California in November. One of the banned Chinese participants is a Yale University post-doctoral student Ji Wang, who had also planned to make a presentation at the event.
The ban on Chinese participants is based on a new law, which prohibits anyone from China entering any of NASA's building. The law is aimed to restrict foreign nationals' access to NASA's facilities.
The ban on Chinese scientists has been highly criticized even by many US scientists who say Chinese students and researchers in their labs are being discriminated against.
NASA's chief Charles Bolden has admitted the mistake; however, recent government shutdown will not allow the approval process to take place. Bolden also added that he would try to do anything to resolve the situation. However, the law is meant to restrict individuals acting as official representatives of the Chinese government and not Chinese students.
"Because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, there is no one at NASA HQ who can complete the approval process," said Alan P. Boss, a member of the Carnegie Institution for Science and co-chair of the conference, to FoxNews.com. "The efforts of NASA's Ames Research Center to ensure that our Chinese astronomer colleagues will be able to attend the Second Kepler Science Conference have been halted by the fact these approvals must be entered into a computer system at NASA HQ in Washington D.C."
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying in Beijing said that she is aware of NASA's decision and also criticized the ban on Chinese students.
"At the same time I have also noticed that the discriminative action by NASA has also met opposition. We think that these academic meetings should not be politicised," said Chunying.
The ban on Chinese participants has ignited discontent from both Chinese scientists and some prominent US astronomers who are also prepared to boycott the conference.
