The World Journal (世界日報), a Chinese-language outlet with online and print editions across the United States, reported that graduating Harvard University student Yurong “Luanna” Jiang (蔣雨融), who is from China, received polarized reactions to her graduation address at the Ivy League institution. While some Chinese netizens praised the “international vision” shown in Jiang’s speech — titled “Safeguarding Our Humanity” — others criticized her message as a false story of inspiration for ordinary families. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Jiang’s background was scrutinized after her speech went viral in China. Netizens found that she is the daughter of Jiang Zhiming (蔣志明), executive director of the Chinese state-backed environmental organization China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (中國生物多樣性保護與綠色發展基金會). Given Harvard’s annual tuition and living costs would demand around 700,000-800,000 yuan, or between 96,000 and 110,000 dollars, they questioned Jiang’s claim to have come from an “ordinary” family and suggested — without proof, mind you — that her admission may have benefited from elite connections. Over on his Substack account, the exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law Kwun-chung (羅冠聰) noted Jiang’s used in her speech of the words “shared future” in close proximity to the word “humanity” — suggesting possible echoes of one of Xi Jinping’s core foreign policy concepts.
