American professor denied entry, blacklisted for supporting jailed Uighur professor

China has denied entry to an American professor who teaches Tibetan History at the Indiana University for his support for a jailed Uighur Professor Ilham Toti despite having a valid Chinese Visa. 

As soon as Eliot Harris Sperling landed in Beijing, Chinese immigration officers took him to a back room in the airport for questioning. Sperling told the New York Times that his support for Tohti might be the reason for his being denied entry into China and cancellation of his Chinese Visa expiring in June next year. 

“There was obviously an order about me entered into the database,” the New York Timesquoted him as saying. “I saw no point in arguing. I mean, I had a pretty clear notion about why I was being denied entry. For me, it was clearly about Ilham.” ...