Why ‘racist’ biologist James Watson is remembered in China with respect

In the West, the American molecular biologist’s legacy was more and more overshadowed by the fallout from these remarks, culminating in New York’s Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory (CSHL) severing ties with him in 2019.

Yet 1000’s of kilometres away, in laboratories and educational communities throughout China, a unique profile emerged – one much less targeted on scandal than on sacrifice, mentorship and scientific solidarity.

In China, Watson shouldn’t be primarily remembered as a provocateur, however as a pioneer who noticed potential in a nation nonetheless rebuilding its scientific foundations – and selected to spend money on it when few others did.

He despatched books, journals and bacterial strains to Chinese researchers lower off from Western science. He opened the doorways of Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory (CSHL) to dozens of Chinese students at a time when such alternatives had been uncommon.

He championed China’s inclusion within the Human Genome Project, writing on to Chinese leaders to induce participation – a transfer that paved the best way for the nation to safe its place in one among trendy science’s biggest collaborations.