Industry
Why was a US Yale graduate hounded out of his job promoting Chinese culture?
His supposedly sky-high salary and internship at a conservative think tank sparked online fury and rumours he was a US spy In just two months, Yale graduate Edward Kuperman went from being praised by Chinese state media to being bombarded by public accusations that he was a spy. His interest in China started with a Chinese language class in junior high school, as well as books and films about China, Xinhua reported. At 17, he was an exchange student in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. After returning to the United States, his parents hired a Chinese tutor for him, it said. Kuperman, who also goes by the Chinese name Gu Aihua – “Loving China” – started his first job as an intern live-streamer at the Dunhuang Culture International Communication Centre (DCICC) in April, the article said, adding that he believed the city was a “unique entryway to observing China, understanding China and telling China’s stories”. Dunhuang was for centuries a stop along the Silk Road and in the article Kuperman’s life there is presented as typically rosy. One anecdote describes how he spent three hours helping a Dutch tourist find their lost backpack.
