The Ministry of Education has *slapped some *harsh rules on the *migration of high-*caliber academic talent between the eastern and western regions. In recently published guidelines, the ministry says that it encourages the flow of “high-end” talent from East China to universities in the western regions, but prohibits movement in the opposite direction. Specifically, eastern universities are banned from *poaching Cheung Kong *scholars — a program that sponsors hundreds of China’s top professors, researchers and scientists — from their western peers.