21 February 2021 – MIPS recently learned from a document circulated on social media that Dr. Andrew Ngun Cung Lian was listed as a member of the Advisory Group to the Chairperson of the State Administrative Council (SAC). Dr. Andrew Lian left his position as a research director at MIPS in September 2020 and remained involved only as a part-time legal consultant/senior fellow. Dr. Andrew Lian then submitted his full resignation as a legal consultant on 7 January 2021. His involvement in the SAC chair’s advisory group was a choice made on his own accord and independently from our organization. MIPS and its individual employees played absolutely no role in Dr. Lian’s decision. MIPS will continue its support for the pursuit of a democratic and federal union and reasserts its commitment to fact-based analysis regarding the current political and security situation.