Spy charges dropped against Asian/American scientists; Asian congressional caucus warn against racial profiling

Espionage charges were dropped against Xi Xiaoxin

ON MONDAY, (Sept. 14) members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) called upon the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate a pattern of cases in which U.S. citizens of Asian descent have been wrongfully arrested or charged with alleged espionage.

On Friday (Sept. 11), the Department of Justice dropped all charges against Dr. Xi Xiaoxing of Temple University.  Federal agents stormed his house with guns drawn, arrested him as he was taken away from his family in handcuffs, accused him of being a spy for China, and his title of Chair of the Physics Department was taken away.

“I don’t expect them to understand everything I do,” Xiaxing told the New York Times. “But the fact that they don’t consult with experts and then charge me? Put my family through all of this? Damage my reputation? They shouldn’t do this. This is not a joke. This is not a game.”

Rep. Judy Chu 

The charges against Xeroxing and other Chinese scientists has raised the concern of the congressmembers.

“I am deeply troubled by what appears to be a growing pattern of Chinese American employees being targeted and charged of spying and economic espionage, only to have those charges later dropped," said CAPAC chair Rep. Judy Chu of California.

“Just last week, the Department of Justice dropped all of its charges against Temple University professor Xi Xiaoxing, who was accused of sharing sensitive U.S. technology with China," she said. 

In March, another naturalized U.S. citizen, government hydrologist Sherry Chen, discovered she would not be tried for accessing sensitive data and lying to federal agents.

In both cases, their lawyer said, Department of Justice prosecutors dropped the criminal cases against them once confronted with detailed explanations of the facts.

"These incidents are eerily reminiscent of the case of Chinese/American scientist Wen Ho Lee, who was charged with 59 counts of espionage, fired from his job, taken to jail, and held in solitary confinement only to have 58 of the charges later dropped," said Chu.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is comprised of members of Congress of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and members who have a strong dedication to promoting the well-being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. 

“We now see a recurring theme of false allegations being placed on patriotic, law-abiding American citizens of Chinese descent," said Rep. Mike Honda, Calif. "A person’s ethnicity should never be sufficient justification for charges or suspicions being brought upon them," 

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