DOJ: 'We are no longer going to have a China Initiative'

Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen

Under growing pressure from AAPI civil rights organizations, political leaders and academic circles, the Department of Justice is scrapping the controversial Trump-era China Initiative.

“We are no longer going to have a China Initiative,” Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen. "‘I have concluded that this initiative is not the right approach’ and that it is ‘not wise to focus on one country."

The DOJ is dropping the name but will continue to investigate China's aggressive espionage strategy as part of an overall campaign addressing the global security challenges facing the US without singling out China and promoting anti-Asian xenophobia and violence. 

“The China Initiative is a failed program that has fueled racial animosity, xenophobia, and suspicion towards the AAPI community and Chinese Americans in particular,” said Zhengyu Huang, President of the Committee of 100, a group of Chinese and Chinese American academics, researchers and business people. 

“The China Initiative has ruined the lives of innocent Americans and hurts America’s ability to lead in scientific research and innovation. Even when cases are dismissed, many Chinese and Asian Americans have their lives, careers, and health greatly affected," the Committee stated in an earlier press release.

Prior to the DOJ announcement Wednesday, Olsen met with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific America Caucus (CAPAC) to hear concerns about the China Initiative, its use of racial profiling, and the harm it has caused the Asian American community. 

Acknowledging that the China Initiative’s deep flaws, Olsen said the DOJ will no longer use this program’s framework in their investigations of economic espionage. 

"By starting with a focus on researchers and scientists who are ethnically Chinese, the China Initiative not only engaged in blatant racial profiling, but also reinforced harmful stereotypes that Asian Americans are ‘perpetual others’ who cannot be trusted, ruining numerous lives in the process," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, chair of the CAPAC.

With only one conviction since its creation in 2018, the China Initiative will be remembered not for any success at curbing espionage, but rather for ruining careers and discouraging many Asian Americans from pursuing careers in STEM fields out of fear that they too will be targeted, said Chu. 

Many of the cases involved errors in the complicated paperwork and have typically involved allegations that the targets lied or omitted information on disclosure forms accompanying grant applications.

Last month, the DOJ dropped all charges against an MIT professor, Gang Chen, because paperwork was misinterpreted by investigators.

A CBS investigation found that the DOJ has dropped charges against eight other Chinese or Chinese Americans.

"By focusing solely on China despite ongoing threats from countries like Iran and Russia, this initiative painted China as a uniquely existential threat to the US, something we know has led to more violence," said Chu. "There are serious national security concerns facing our country from all across the world, but our response must be based on evidence, not racism and fear."

Rep. Judy Chu:"There are serious national security concerns facing our country from all across
 the world, but our response must be based on evidence, not racism and fear."

In his announcement, Olsen stressed that espionage and the theft of technology and intellectual property by the Peoples Republic of China is real and the FBI will continue to investigate those threats.

"I want to emphasize my belief that the department’s actions have been driven by genuine national security concerns," said Olsen. "But by grouping cases under the China Initiative rubric, we helped give rise to a harmful perception that the department applies a lower standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to that country or that we in some way view people with racial, ethnic or familial ties to China differently.

"This erosion of trust in the department can impair our national security by alienating us from the people we serve, including the very communities the PRC government targets as victims," he added.

Olsen's announcement was largely cautiously applauded by AAPI advocates, who wanted more than a "cosmetic" rebranding.

"While we are cautiously optimistic about the Justice Department's announcement, it cannot be a rebranding exercise and more needs to be done to combat racial profiling, especially when we continue to see academics step forward with stories about being targeted," OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates’ national president Linda Ng said in a statement.

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