Accused as spies, Asian/Am scientists still suffer repercussions even after charges dropped

Spy charges vs. Sherry Chen and Prof. Xiaoxing Xi were dropped but their ordeal continues. 

Reprinted from AsAm News

MORE THAN a year after charges were dropped against two Chinese/American scientists falsely accused of espionage in two separate cases, both remain haunted by their ordeal.

Their cases were profiled in a CBS 60 Minutes report last Sunday and the two have also given recent interviews to the Wall Street Journal and Philly.com.

“We cannot get rid of the thought that the FBI is reading every one of our emails and listening to our phone conversations to find something,” Xiaoxing Xi , 58, said to Philly.com. “I am determined to move on, but that’s there.”

Xi lost his temporary chairmanship of the Physics Department at Temple University after the charges, but remains as a professor. He still struggles to sleep at night.

Unlike Xi, Sherry Chen was unable to get her job back following her suspension from the National Weather Service and has since been fired for the same issues raised in the since dropped Justice Department complaint.

The Wall Street Journal reports she has filed a discrimination suit against the Commerce Department.

“The victim isn’t only me–it’s also our agency,” she said. “I have a lot of work unfinished. My [forecasting] model really saves people’s lives”

“If you took out the China connection, neither of those cases would have ever been brought in a millions years,” said Peter Zeidenberg, an attorney who represented both Chen and Xi. “Everything that has a China connection is scrutinized in a different way.”

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), points out in a press release that what happened to Xi is not an isolated incident. Within the last 18 months, Chinese American scientists Guoqing Cao, Shuyu Li, Sherry Chen and Xiaoxing Xi have emerged in a string of cases in which espionage-related cases were brought forth and later dropped – without explanation.

“Their lives were turned upside down simply because they were emailing while being Asian American,” said Chu in the CAPAC release that noted the Department of Justice’s new oversight policy in regards to national security-related cases, yet questioned its efficacy. 

“The public is still being denied any investigation explaining why there appears to be a pattern of singling out Asian Americans by federal law enforcement … I demand that the Department of Justice launch a full, independent investigation into the cases of these wrongfully charged individuals. I also look forward to hearing directly from Attorney General (Loretta) Lynch regarding DOJ’s new policy to provide greater oversight on espionage-related cases, and the Department’s plans to avoid such egregious missteps in the future.”

It’s difficult for Chen and Xi to shake their experience from their conscious.

“I see dangers all over the place,” said Xi. “I think I sound very annoyingly paranoid when I talk to my colleagues because I tell them, ‘You better be careful, what you’re doing is dangerous.’ ”

Forty members of congress have called for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into racial profiling of Asian Americans. So far, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has not responded to the request.
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Instagram sparks an instafix: The power of social media overcomes racial profiling

Waris Ahluwalia modeled H&M clothing for a billboard above the store in New York's Time Square.

THIS STORY couldn't have happened five years ago. With the increasing dominance of social media, you can get the world's attention in minutes. Almost as fast, you can start getting reactions.

Waris Ahluwalia is a model and actor. His face is up on a giant billboard in New York City's Times Square above the H&M store. The billboard is historic in that it was the first time Sikhs were featured in such a prominent ad and what is arguable the center of the America's public square. 

The first indication we knew something was amiss with Ahluwalia was his Instagram  saying that AeroMexico would to let him on their flight from Mexico City to New York City. Apparently, his turban and beard, both elements of his religion, was enough to bar him on the airline's plane even though restrictions were  put in place to catch radical Muslims.

“I was about to board, and they asked me to remove my turban,” Ahluwalia said, referring to the religious headgear typically worn by Sikh men. “That’s not something I’m willing to do in front of everyone. It’s like asking someone to remove their underwear in public.”

“I said that’s not going to happen,” he said. “Then another gentlemen came by and said that I would not be getting on any Aero Mexico flight.”
Then the international media caught whiff of the story, his friends in the entertainment industry joined the fray to support him and the airline's action became an international incident. 

The Sikh Coalition began a campaign protesting the treatment of Ahluwalia.

Finally, the snowball effect of the negative publicity pushed the airline to relent and realize the error of its ways. Ahluwalia was offered a ticket to New York City. But Ahluwalia refused the ticket until the airline apologized.

The airline posted on their website said that AeroMexico “recognizes and is proud of the diversity of its passengers,” the statement said. “Every day we work to ensure strict compliance with the highest safety standards, while we respect and value the culture and beliefs of our customers.”

“We apologize to Mr. Waris Ahluwalia for the bad experience he had with one of our security elements while boarding his flight to New York in the Mexico City International Airport. This case motivates us to ensure that security personnel strengthen its care protocols, always respecting the cultural and religious values ​​of customers.”

However, Ahluwalia's predicament can no longer be seen as an isolated event. Like so many Sikhs, Muslims and Arab Americans have been stopped and searched beyond airports' normal screening measures. The racial profiling that occurs is happening to other Asians as well with the increasing terrorist activities in Indonesia and the southern Philippines. 

Islamaphobia often extends to untrained passengers who simply feel uncomfortable with men who wear turbans and beards. Feeling uncomfortable is enough to get people escorted off of airplanes.

Four Muslim and Sikh men are currently suing American Airlines for allegedly removing them from a flight without cause in December, and in the same month, an influential Sikh commentator for MSNBC was asked to show passengers on a plane her breast pump to prove she wasn’t a terrorist.

Compliments to Aeromexico to see and admit their error but the profiling that is being done by airport personnel is happening all too often and proof that further training is needed. 

For more news about Asian/American &Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

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