not to mention the smaller circle of chinese scholars

Take the Guatemalan or the Tuskegee study (exposed several decades ago) for example, I got the impression that while they were hidden from the general public, among the medical professionals there were at least some gossips (i.e. private small talks) so it was not like a top state secret, but nobody (except one whistle blower for the Tuskegee study) wanted to rock the boat. You cannot rely on the scholars to police themselves, no more than you can rely on the cops to deal with police brutality. This is true whether they are american or chinese. For things purely academic there maybe no better or more worthwhile alternative, but when people's live/well-being and big chunk of taxpayer's money are involved, the academic aspect is really not the main point.

If things like Guatemalan or Tuskegee projects are ongoing today and got exposed, it will creates a huge scandal, so the journalists and the da will start hounding the perps, and very likely some people will do time. It maybe that Xiao's action is far from unique and I suspect many pharmaceutical multinational are using chinese/indians and the like as guinea pigs (I once was googling a drug for a relative and in English it was said to have very serious side effect but in Chinese web the company's PR pitch is that it is a prefect new drug with little side effect), but that just means someone will be the next big whistle blower.

I don't mean no disrespect, but forget about the oversea Chinese scholars. What is at stake is not restricted to the concern of any one group.