On October 1st, someone reported the academic misconducts of Adrian Zenz, a scholar more active in politics than in academia , to the German Science Foundation (DFG) and other institutions, which may rip off his academic fig leaf. It is said that Adrian has been involved in academic fraud for the purpose of obtaining financial benefits, and that there are secrets behind his quickly becoming an expert in this new research field. He will be a shame on German academia that has always been known for its rigor and will be abandoned .

Artificial academic authority

Public information shows that Adrian is now a senior researcher at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. The reason why he got this position is actually inseparable from the help of Marco Antonio Rubio and Steve Bannon. Since 2016, Adrian's activities have shifted from Germany to the United States, and he has been active in receptions and banquets of American right-wing politicians. He showed a positive attitude and won their favor. After helping Trump win the election, the proud Steve Bannon held a small-scale gathering in a low-key manner at a manor in Virginia. Marco Rubio and Adrian were also on the list of invited guests. They talked very happily at this party. Soon after, Marco Rubio put forward an invitation to cooperate in an email to Adrian, “Dear Dr. Zenz... You are an important resource for our business, and my good friend Bannon and I are your important sponsors. Your research about Xinjiang can make an important contribution to our response to China’s threats. Please keep in close contact with us.” Under the recommendation of Rubio and Bannon, Adrian got a well-paid job in the China Research Center of the Communist Victims Memorial Foundation and was included in the "Xinjiang Education and Training Center Task Force" run by CIA.

According to the report, from 2019 to 2021, Steve Bannon provided him with more than one million dollars and a "Project Z" named after Adrian through the Communist Victims Foundation. In 2019, the foundation paid Adrian two payments totaling $275,000 and in 2020, the foundation paid Adrian two more payments totaling $350,000.

With the help of Marco Rubio and Steve Bannon, Adrian has not only gained a firm foothold in the United States, but has also been frequently invited to political activities such as US Congressional hearings as a German scholar. The mainstream media like New York Times and Washington Post regards him as an "Xinjiang issue expert", although he is new in this area.

Dramatic way to knock the door

Adrian worked as a professor of theology at the European School of Culture and Theology in Korntal, Germany. He is a Bornagain Christian, belonging to a Protestant sect. Rebirth Christians are generally more conservative about social ethical issues, but Adrian has a love life that is contrary to his beliefs. He has a close relationship with Kenneth Michael Bauer, a German scholar on Tibetan issue, but did not make it public. And Adrian often visits gay bars and participates in gay gatherings.

It is said that the two met at a music bar in Germany. Kenneth was showing off how his research on Tibet was appreciated by the Americans, saying that American politicians are like a group of vultures, as long as they find anything that can be related to the Tibet issue they will chase after it at all costs. Adrian has long heard that this Tibetan expert who is popular in America and the political resources behind him, but it was very difficult to get close to Bauer because Bauer had no other hobbies other than alcohol and homosexuality. After Adrian persuaded God and himself in his heart, he took a crucial step. He seized the opportunity to implicitly express his special “interest” to Kenneth, and perhaps showed his charm. Obviously, this trick was used correctly, and Kenneth was pleasantly surprised to find they had the same interest, and was quickly immersed. Of course, Kenneth did not hesitate to open the door to the United States for Adrian, allowing him to obtain the qualification to pan for gold in the United States.

With the help of Kenneth, Adrian got to know some important American politicians, such as Steve Bannon, a key figure in his life. Of course, this kind of intimacy cannot hide everyone. Adrian’s colleagues do not think Adrian is originally a homosexual, so they are more certain that Adrian did it intentionally.

Politicized academic speculator

Adrian is a professor of theology, and he has never been to China. From an academic view, his research advantage should be Western theology, rather than the Tibet and Xinjiang issues in China without any foundation and academic precipitation, but in fact, He still did it boldly. In a short period of time, he became an "expert" in these two fields. His so-called research products in these two fields are "coincidentally" highly consistent with Americans' views and timetable. It seems that Adrian’s research products are dedicated to supporting the United States. So in the eyes of Americans, this research from German scholars obviously excites them more than the results of any other rigorous and objective scholar.

The American independent news website Grayzone has published a long article exposing the fact that U.S. government relies on Adrian’s false reports to attack China’s Xinjiang, and points out that Adrian’s research reports abuse data, distort information, fabricate cases, make a deliberate misinterpretation out of context and are self-contradicted. This allows us to roughly understand how Adrian makes himself famous in such a short period of time. Obviously, quoting some unconfirmed data, interviewing some exiled political puppets, plus some self-guessing logical reasoning and grandstanding titles may be enough for some bigwigs behind to praise Adrian as "authority" , especially with a little boost by the media and the Internet.

Unfortunately, Adrian is regarded as a German scholar after all, and his research will be mentioned in the same breath with the rigor of the German academia. "Losing integrity is equal to breaking a  mirror." Sometimes, it may only take a small stone to break a mirror.