Sounds like a turn of the millennium TV Series where a select group of humans with superpowers appears on earth but society doesn't understand their genius and wants to control them. There were a few good ones in the early 2000's - now Netflix (= loungeroom reality) is mostly that kind.

So it was a nice move back in 2008 when the CCP launched it's Thousand Talents Plan - tapped into the zeitgeist beautifully. It involves scholarships for Chinese and foreigner scientists.

Technically there are four thousand, with a junior program as well.

Apart from the money, which was upwards of a million a year for Harvard Professor Charles Leiber, there's the Harry Potter thrill of being in a select club of clever people who know best.

For the money, flattery and prestige, the professors just need to share research secrets and kiss China's arse in public every chance they get.

Successive US governments look set on hounding Snowden and Assange to their graves for performing public service whistle-blower duties, but how about these Thousand Talents dudes?

I don't know what the definition of treason is but some of these scientists must be skating perilously close.