To be sure, Chen's charges are not completely removed from the realm of possibility. As Quartz's Jake Maxwell Watts noted on Sunday, NYU enjoys a particularly close relationship with the Chinese government, on account of its expansion in Shanghai and the steady flow of Chinese students paying full freight to study in New York. But according to NYU professor Jerome Cohen, a close friend of Chen's who helped negotiate the activist's appointment at NYU, none of Chen's claims really add up. Cohen told the Journal: "Mr. Chen seems to be taking advice from a group that thrives on accusation, rumor, suspicion, gossip and malice. So far not a single fact has been adduced to support their allegations."

The thrust of Chen's accusations is, indeed, a bit unclear. In his full statement, he thanks NYU for hosting him at the height of his personal vulnerability — he had been holed up in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing after escaping his home, where he had been placed under house arrest following a five-year prison term for charges that were never substantiated — but criticized NYU President John Sexton for never bothering to meet Chen in person. And it's not as if Chen or his family (he has a wife and a son) is in danger of being instantly deported or rendered destitute. Shortly after arriving in New York last year, Chen signed a high-profile book deal, and is already in talks with several institutions in the tri-state area, including Fordham University in New York and the Witherspoon Institute, a conservative think tank in New Jersey, to fund his studies and activism.

Where Chen lands next is likely to attract its own controversy. Cohen, the NYU professor and friend, expressed concern in early June with the Witherspoon Institute's recruitment of Chen, citing the think tank's views toward abortion policy. (Unlike leaders at Witherspoon, Cohen told the Financial Times, Chen believes believes in both access to abortion and protecting women against forced abortions.) Meanwhile, Chen's other leading choice, Fordham University, has a 15-year relationship with the state-sponsored Peking University in Beijing, and is home to the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers, which exists "to promote the rule of law in China." Chen's recent attacks on NYU could narrow his choices, though: An acquaintance of Chen's told the Journal that Chen's insinuation that NYU cooperated with China to remove him from campus "might compromise offers from other schools and push him toward the Witherspoon Institute."

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.