IEEE Admitted Banning Huawei Employees From Peer-Reviewing Papers

May 30, 2019, 12:02pm2019/05/30 14:36:11 Shaw Wan

“IEEE has to obey the laws and regulations in the U.S. and other regions (as a non-government and nonprofit organization registered in New York,) . The abidance by law can protect IEEE, it volunteers and members,” IEEE said in its announcement on May 30.

IEEE admitted it’s banning of Huawei employees from peer-reviewing papers is because Huawei has been placed on the Entity List by the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). It also said any action against EAR will receive civil or criminal punishment, including penalties and custody, according to Supplement No.4 to Part 744 of the EAR.

“If the American government explains further about how EAR applies to peer-reviewing, IEEE will make adjustments accordingly,” the statement said.

Although banned from non-public activities, including peer-reviewing and editing process of certain publications, all IEEE members, including Huawei employees, can still hold their IEEE personal and company membership. They can also enjoy access to IEEE’s digital library and other publications. Technical papers by Huawei employees can be proposed and entered into the reviewing process.

“All that Huawei employees can’t do is to see rejected papers while they are being examined. Comparing with free access to academic seminars, setting standards and positions at the organization, everyone would know which is more important,” said Yuan Yu, the only Chinese board member at IEEE.

Yuan also clarified that Huawei employees are only banned for peer-reviewing. “The email [I received] didn’t ban Huawei employees from being editors and reviewers for IEEE publications,” Yuan said.

According to IEEE, it’s been dedicated to providing an academic platform and help to its members, volunteers and the organization. IEEE holds over 1900 technical seminars every year, and more than 4.8 million academic documents are available on IEEE Xplore®.

These services will always be open to all members, no matter which company they are from, the statement said.

The statement responded to yesterday’s IEEE email to its editors excluding Huawei employees from peer-reviewing process.