Gov't profiling targets researchers and scientists of Asian descent, says study

Researchers and scientists of Asian descent are being targeted by government agencies because of their race and ethnicity concludes a new survey.

“What is clear from this research is that U.S. scientists and researchers of Chinese descent and non-Chinese descent experience the world and their work very differently because of racism, stereotypes, xenophobia, and government policies,” said Dr. Jenny J. Lee, Professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education, College of Education, at the University of Arizona. 

The white paper “Racial Profiling Among Scientists of Chinese Descent and Consequences for the U.S. Scientific Community” conducted by the Committee of 100, whose members are Chinese and Chinese American researchers and scientists. 

The survey results and data  demonstrate a consistent pattern of racial profiling in science and research. Scientists of Chinese descent and of Asian descent report far greater racial profiling from the U.S. government, difficulty in obtaining research funds, professional challenges and setbacks, and fear and anxiety that they are surveilled by the U.S. government, compared to non-Asian scientists.

The survey data also shows that the China Initiative is producing a wave of fear among scientists of non-Chinese descent as well, where scientists have described cutting ties with their collaborators in China, no longer hiring Chinese postdocs, and limiting communications with scholars in China, even at the expense of their own research projects.

Scientists of Chinese descent indicate in the survey that they have purposely not pursued federal funding for projects for fear of increased scrutiny, compared to scientists of non- Chinese descent. This can lead to smaller teams, downsizing of projects, and working with reduced resources. 

Scientists of Chinese descent have also started to consider working in less hostile climates outside the U.S., which could affect talent retention. The enrollment of new international graduate students from China has already been declining.

Key data points pulled from the report:

● Overall, scientists of Chinese descent and non-Chinese descent both recognize the value of scientists of Chinese descent and support collaboration with China. 96.8% of scientists of Chinese descent and 93.6% of scientists of non-Chinese descent believe that scientists of Chinese descent make important contributions to research and teaching programs in the U.S.

 ● 42.2% of scientists of Chinese descent feel racially profiled by the U.S. government, while only 8.6% of scientists of non-Chinese descent feel so.

● 38.4% of scientists of Chinese descent experience more difficulty in obtaining funding for research projects in the U.S. as a result of their race/ethnicity/country of origin, compared to only 14.2% of scientists of non-Chinese descent.

● 50.7% of scientists of Chinese descent feel considerable fear and/or anxiety that they are being surveilled by the U.S. government, compared to only 11.7% of scientists of non-Chinese descent.

● 39.7% of scientists of Chinese descent believe the U.S. should be tougher on China to prevent the theft of intellectual property, while 74.8% of scientists of non-Chinese descent feel so.

 ● Among those who had reported conducting research that involves China over the past 3 years, a higher percentage of the scientists of Chinese over non-Chinese descent reported limiting communication with collaborators in China (40.6% vs. 12.8%), deciding not to involve China in future projects (23.8% vs. 5.8%), and deciding not to work with collaborators in China in the future projects (23.2% vs. 9.7%).

 ● Among those whose research with China was prematurely suspended over the past three years, 78.5% of scientists of Chinese descent wanted to distance themselves from collaborators in China due to the China Initiative, compared to 27.3% of scientists of non-Chinese descent.

 ● Among non-U.S. citizen scientists in the sample, 42.1% of the scientists of Chinese descent indicate that the FBI investigations and/or the China Initiative affected their plans to stay in the U.S., while only 7.1% of the scientists of non-Chinese descent report so.

Members of Congress have asked the Department of Justice Secretary Merrick Garland that the China Initiative be reviewed for the possibility of racial profiling.

Calls on the administration to end the initiative was renewed recently after its first case to go to trial ended in the defendant’s acquittal.

Hu Anming, a professor at University of Tennessee, was cleared of all charges in September after a federal judge ruled that the government's case faltered because the government attorneys failed to provide sufficient evidence that he had intended to defraud NASA.

In another case, espionage charges against government researcher Sherry Chen were dropped for lack of evidence but the government agency she worked for refused to fully reinstate her. She has filed a lawsuit asking for financial damages incurred by the charges. 

But even when charges against individuals like Chen and Hu are dropped, rights groups warn that the reputational, financial and emotional tolls on them and their families remain.

“The U.S. is the global leader in scientific research, yet suspicions of scientists of Chinese descent in the U.S. have made progress and exchange more difficult,” says  Zheng Yu Huang, President of Committee of 100. 

“Government policies have a direct correlation with and impact on advancements in life-saving innovation and technological breakthroughs" says Huang. "We need to move beyond the stereotypes of the perpetual foreigner and halt the xenophobia being directed at Chinese Americans and the entire AAPI community."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.