China welcomes back physics star Lin Shaozhen – and out comes the online abuse

Lin Shaozhen has risen in the field of biomechanics to carve out an impressive international career. Now, after spending the past five years at Aix-Marseille University in France, and more recently at the University of Singapore, Lin has returned to work in China.

In February, Lin, who is in his thirties, took a full-time position as a professor and doctoral supervisor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong, according to the university’s website.

In the past week or so, though, Lin has also been the target of online abuse. Since being appointed to his new position at Sun Yat-sen University, some photos of him have appeared on the Chinese social media app RedNote, resulting in hundreds of comments mocking his appearance.

After several years abroad, physicist Lin Shaozhen has returned to home to work at China’s Sun Yat-sen University. Photo: Handout

In various photos, the professor’s head appears titled. According to comments online, the condition is a result of congenital muscular torticollis, also known as wryneck.

The South China Morning Post contacted Lin for comment.

Lin was born in the city of Ganzhou, in central China’s Jiangxi province, and was part of a “hongzhi” high school programme that subsidises students in need.

He soared academically, eventually establishing himself as a leading physics researcher.

To date, he has published 41 Science Citation Index papers in top academic journals. Lin has published three articles as an author and has served as a reviewer in the prestigious physics journal Physical Review Letters.

South China Morning Post