Physics and Politics Intertwined -- The manipulative moves in the 2016 supercollider controversy in China

The controversy in 2016 over the worthiness of building an extremely expensive supercollider in China was both scientific and political. The intricacies of the asymmetrical manipulative moves on the science-politics interface by the pro-side and the con-side will be analyzed. The talk will end with some general remarks on the determinants in agenda-setting for fundamental researches in China, which will be compared with those in the US.