It does not pass the smell test. This is not an error one would make. Imagine one gets an email from Z, X-Y <xyz...@ucanuckistan.ac.ca>, then why would one describe this as "emails (ed: plural!) from China"?

My theory that fits the evidence given is that the professor is withholding the real "angry emails from China" because she thinks if those are published, then she definitely won't get a travel visum anymore and thus negatively impact her career.