China Initiative whiffs, again; 'This is not an espionage case,' says judge

Feng "Franklin" Tao victimized by China Initiative

A Chinese-born professor who was accused of hiding work he did in China has avoided prison in the latest setback to the Trump-instigated China Initiative.

United States District Judge Julie Robinson on Wednesday sentenced Feng “Franklin” Tao to time served after earlier throwing out his conviction on three counts of wire fraud.

"This is not an espionage case," Robinson said. "Maybe that's what the Department of Justice thought what was going on, but that's not what was going on."

Federal prosecutors said Tao, who worked on renewable energy projects, concealed his affiliation with China’s Fuzhou University from the University of Kansas where he taught and from two federal agencies that provided grant funding for the professor’s research.

Robinson, appointed by then-President George W. Bush, sentenced Tao to time served, saying there was no evidence he shared proprietary information with anyone in China and that the chemical engineering professor did research that was "freely shared in the scientific community."

Robinson noted that Tao published 16 papers and a book since his arrest, work done from his home after KU banned him from campus. That high level of productivity is an indicator of his continued value to society, she said. She dismissed the government’s claim that Tao’s entire body of research is unreliable simply because he omitted relevant information on the required disclosure forms at KU.

In her ruling, Robinson said prosecutors had presented no evidence during the trial that Tao received any money for his work in China, which is required for a wire fraud conviction.

The judge said when the trial started, she expected to hear evidence that Tao’s alleged deceptions caused financial loss and that he shared research with China at the expense of US taxpayers and the three institutions.

Rather, the evidence showed that Tao continued fulfilling his duties to the University of Kansas while in China by working 70-hour weeks and pushing his students at Kansas to do the same.

“Dr. Tao is immensely relieved that Judge Robinson agreed that a sentence of time served was appropriate,” his lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, said in a statement. (Tao spent one week in jail after his arrest.) “We were also gratified to hear the judge say, once again, that neither the government nor KU was defrauded or harmed, and that Dr. Tao did all of the work required of him to the complete satisfaction of these entities.”

“Our lives will never be the same as before [his arrest],” said Tao's wife, Hong Peng. “It’s hard to find the words to describe what we have been through.” 

Tao, who was born in China but immigrated to the United States in 2002, was one of several researchers, most of whom were of Chinese descent, charged under the controversial China Initiative. The initiative was widely criticized as promoting anti-Asian racism and racial profiling

Frank Wu, a legal expert and president of Queens College at the City University of New York, told Nature that he calls the China Initiative “an abysmal failure.”

Although the DOJ usually wins the vast majority of cases it brings to court, the China Initiative produced few results, with several cases dismissed for lack of evidence and other researchers who had been charged reaching plea agreements with prosecutors.

The China Initiative was terminated in February 2022 because of complaints of racial profiling and its relative ineffectiveness. “They really spent years and a lot of effort ruining a bunch of people’s lives, and they did not win very many cases,” Wu says.

“I don’t know if racism was the reason for the China Initiative, but race was part of it, and the effects are real,” he adds. “Respected scientists of Chinese background, including American citizens, feel targeted.”

Gisela Perez Kusakawa, executive director of the Asian American Scholar Forum, said Tao’s case raised concerns among Asian-American researchers that they would be targeted, particularly in an era of increasing bias against them.

She said the disclosure form Tao was convicted of filling out improperly is vague and that there should be a system to allow researchers to fix such mistakes, rather than subjecting them to federal prosecution.

“We want the public to know that Asian American scientists are contributing to this country,” Kusakawa said. “They are the very people this county needs right now for the research to continue to advance.”

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

Chinese American scientist vindicated with a settlement of $1.75 million settlement

SCIENTIST SHERRY CHEN

Wrongfully accused of being a spy, Chinese American scientist Sherry Chen finally received justice in the form of a $1.75 million settlement from the federal government.


“The government’s investigation and prosecution of me was discriminatory and unjustified,” said Sherry Chen. “The Commerce Department is finally being held responsible for its wrongdoing and for the conduct of its illegal security unit, which has had a devastating impact on my life and the lives of so many other federal employees. No one else should have to endure this injustice.”

On Nov. 10, Chen’s lawyers announced that the scientist won a historic $1.75 million settlement from the US Commerce Department for her wrongful prosecution and subsequent termination from the National Weather Service. “The government’s investigation and prosecution of me was discriminatory and unjustified,” Chen said in a statement. “The Commerce Department is finally being held responsible for its wrongdoing … No one else should have to endure this injustice.”

The settlement - $550,000 from the Commerce Department and an annuity from the government valued at $1.25 million over 10 years – marks the end of Chen's lawsuit.

"Ms Chen's historic settlement is a victory for her and for Chinese American communities," said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, co-counsel of Chen's case. "It makes clear that profiling and discrimination are unacceptable, and that the government will be held to account," she said in a statement.

Chen's case began with racial profiling. Even though she had won awards for helping save lives from dangerous floodwaters, after she visited her elderly parents in China, she was targeted. She was accused of crimes such as espionage, interrogated without being advised of her rights, and then brought under federal prosecution and terminated from employment.

On the eve of trial, however, the government dropped all criminal charges. Sherry was always, and remains, an innocent American. 

“As a public servant, I have been in the front line protecting people’s safety and their property," said Chen. "I made my contribution to this country. I have been an innocent American and a law abiding citizen. However, my life has been turned upside down twice by our government for doing nothing wrong. I am glad to receive the court’s favorable ruling on my MSPB claim.”

Chen’s case was an early instance of what would become a much bigger pattern of the US government’s increasing suspicion of Chinese and Chinese American scientists amid growing competition between the US and China. The settlement is a personal and symbolic victory after years of persecution.

Chen’s investigation and firing predated the Justice Department’s China Initiative, a Trump-era program to counter Chinese economic espionage that, despite its stated goals, disproportionately targeted Chinese-American academic researchers for alleged grant fraud or disclosure issues—and saw a higher number of cases fall apart before trial than the federal average.

In addition to the monetary damages, Chen’s lawyers say that the Commerce Department will also host a private meeting with the scientist and provide a letter acknowledging her record and accomplishments as a government hydrologist.

It’s not quite the apology that Chen’s supporters, organized by the advocacy organization APA Justice and signed by over 1,000 individuals and organizations, demanded in an open letter sent earlier this year to Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce. However, the chance to sit down with Commerce Department officials and the promise of a written acknowledgement “were very important to Ms. Chen and were negotiated as part of the settlement,” Gorski told us.

The symbolism of her settlement may be especially welcome in the aftermath of the ill-fated China Initiative, which MIT Technology Review investigated last year and found to be ineffective with respect to its stated goals and to have overwhelmingly targeted individuals of Chinese heritage, who made up 90% of defendants.

The Biden administration officially ended the China Initiative in February, but numerous studies have pointed to its broader chilling effects on scientific collaboration between the US and China, as well as declining interest in the United States as a destination for higher education and research. Not to mention the lingering personal effects for individuals caught up in the web, even if they were ultimately cleared.

That gives added significance to the outcome of Chen’s lawsuits. “It’s an enormous victory for Ms. Chen personally,” said Gorski, “and for the Chinese American community as well. The settlement makes clear that when the government discriminates, it’s going to be held accountable.”

Chen's victory was cheered by Chinese American community members. “The Sherry Chen case has meant so much to Asian Americans, especially Chinese immigrants, because they identify with her," said Committee of 100 President Frank H. Wu. 

"Sherry could be your sister, cousin, or aunt. She is representative. Even though she wanted to contribute to America, she was singled out on account of who she is. So many of us have had that experience too.”

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Legacy of the China Initiative is driving immigrant scientists away from US

One of the unintended consequences of the China Initiative may cause the US to lose its lead in science and research.

A growing number of Chinese-origin American academics are leaving the United States and switching from US to Chinese affiliations, according to the new study conducted by the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF)

The report, Caught in the Crossfire: Fears of Chinese-American Scientists,” shows the chilling effect of potential federal investigation and prosecution since the US Department of Justice’s “China Initiative,” which launched in 2018 during the Donald Trump administration and terminated by the DOJ earlier this year.

“There has been a significant increase of Chinese-origin scientists returning to China in recent years despite them wanting to contribute to science and research in the United States," said Xihong Lin,  Co-Chair of the Data and Research Committee.

"The fear among Chinese-origin scientists is palpable and the U.S. runs a high risk of losing talent," said Lin. "We want to use our research to raise awareness of these concerns and continue the long history of the U.S. benefiting from attracting and retaining the best and brightest scientists and engineers from around the world.”

RELATED: Temple University professor suing FBI for wrongful arrest

The national academic climate survey, conducted between December 2021 and March 2022 in collaboration with 11 Asian American professional organizations, collected responses from more than 1,300 faculty members nationwide.

Although an overwhelming majority of the survey respondents (89%) would like to remain in the US to continue contributing to the US leadership in science and technology, 42% are fearful of conducting research in the U.S., especially engineering and computing science faculty, life science faculty, federal grant awardees, and senior faculty.

Around 61% of the survey respondents feel pressure to leave the U.S., especially junior faculty and federal grant awardees, and 45% intend to avoid federal grant applications, especially engineering and computing science faculty, senior faculty, and those from public institutions.

Although the Department of Justice ended the China Initiative in early 2022 after community raised concerns about racial profiling, the new report reveals that the widespread fear of conducting routine research and academic activities, along with the significant risks of losing talent has resulted in scientists' hesitancy to remain in the US and contribute to federal sponsored research in science and technology.

AASF

Although there were some instances of Chinese researchers benefiting monetarily with agreements with the private businesses and the government of China, most of the individuals accused of espionage were cleared for lack of evidence or found to have committed paperwork errors in research grants applications. 

The aggressiveness of the China Initiative did not start with Trump, although the DOJ was emboldened by his rhetoric and policies. Nonwhites in the US were always targets as foreigners. As soon as Asians reached US shores, the anti-Asian sentiment began, leading to the Chinese Exclusion Acts of the 19th century. During the McCarthy era, the FBI ran a secret surveillance program of Chinese American scientists for decades, parts of which continued into the 1980s. 

The practice of racial profiling is not an unintended error caused only by individual prejudice. The biases are deeply embedded in the American psyche, buried just under the thin facade of civility.

Addressing the fears of scientists of Chinese origin and making the academic environment welcoming and attractive for all will help retain and attract scientific talent and strengthen the U.S. leadership in science and technology in the long run.

Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) promotes academic belonging, openness, freedom, and equality for all and represents more than 7,000 scientists, researchers, and scholars in the U.S.. In response to heightened anti-Asian sentiments in the U.S. and increasing profiling of Chinese Americans and immigrants in science, AASF has been a leading national voice fighting for the rights of Asian American and immigrant scientists, researchers, and scholars.

Yu Xie, Co-Chair of the Data and Research Committee, said, “It is clear from our research that the impact of the chilling effect from the ‘China Initiative’ is far from over. We must address the fears of scientists of Asian origin so that we can make the academic environment welcoming and continue the global competitiveness and U.S. leadership in science and technology for future generations to come."

Read the full report here.

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Wrongfully accused Chinese researcher appeals his case against the FBI

 

ACLU / Hannah Beier

Professor Xiaoxing Xi and his wife outside the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, Sept. 14.

A Chinese scientist working in the US appeals his case asking for damages after the  Department of Justice's questionable China Initiative accused him of espionage, charges that were dismissed for lack of evidence.

In oral argumentsWednesday in Philadelphia at the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Temple University professor Dr. Xiaoxing Xi and his attorneys urged the court to reinstate his claims for damages against the US government for its discriminatory investigation and prosecution of baseless charges that were later dismissed.

Judges seemed persuaded that Dr. Xi and his family endured “malicious prosecution and fabrication” of evidence and expressed considerable skepticism with the Department of Justice’s arguments claiming immunity from accountability for constitutional violations.

FYI: Read case documents from Xi v. United States.

Across the country, civil rights advocates working in Asian, Black, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim communities have united in support of Dr. Xi and his fight to hold the government accountable for its long legacy of targeting people on the basis of their race, national origin, religious identity, or ethnic background under the pretext of national security.

Advancing Justice - AAJC and Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus led an amicus brief supporting Dr. Xi and calling on the U.S. government to end its discriminatory targeting and racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants.. The brief was co-signed by 72 Asian American organizations, civil rights groups, scientific associations, and academic groups.

In 2015, Dr. Xi was wrongfully accused of sharing sensitive technology with scientists in China, a charge for which he faced up to 80 years in prison and $1 million in fines. 

FBI agents entered Dr. Xi’s home with a battering ram, pointed guns at him, his wife, and two daughters, and arrested him. As Dr. Xi’s attorney argued, these actions had “devastating consequences” on him and his family, as Dr. Xi was branded a technological spy, suspended as physics chair at Temple University, and was forced to live with the specter of suspicion for years. Dr. Xi and his family have since been fighting for justice for seven years.

“We are at a juncture today for our communities to turn the tide and support Professor Xi’s efforts to ensure that the federal government is held accountable. Whether Professor Xi and his family are finally afforded justice after a seven year long legal battle will have a powerful ripple effect and signal to many others whether our country can change, take responsibility, and uphold justice,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, director of Anti-Racial Profiling for Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Xi's case and others scientists, researchers and professors who were cleared after the DOJ accused them of spying and selling trade secrets that were later dismissed caused the Biden administration to scrap the Trump-instigated China Initiative earlier this year.

“The Third Circuit panel seemed to understand that the government’s constitutional violations of Dr. Xi’s rights cannot stand,” said Glenn Katon, the Litigation Director at Advancing Justice - ALC. “We are hopeful that the court will reverse the dismissal of Dr. Xi’s case, and that he and his family can proceed to prove how the FBI and DOJ’s fabrication of evidence and racial discrimination caused them grievous harms and restore Americans’ confidence that the government cannot violate our rights with impunity.”

It will take several months before the Third Circuit issues a ruling. No matter the outcome, if Xi's case is appealed by either side, it faces an uphill climb in the US Supreme Court, which has already ruled in several similar cases that the government could not be sued for wrongful arrests and detention.

The FBI refused to comment on this case.

“It’s not because the agent made a mistake or misunderstood something. He knew he was wrong. He knew I was innocent, and he went ahead,” Xi told WHYY.

“We’re determined to fight to the end, because we have to hold the government accountable when they violate the rights of innocent people. And next time, when they are trying to do something like that, they better think twice about the consequences.”

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

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.

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

AAPI community advocates file brief supporting 'China Initiative' victim

Temple University Professor Xiaoxing Xi

Amid increased concerns over the FBI’s and Justice Department’s targeting of scientists based on their Chinese descent, 72 Asian American organizations, civil rights groups, science associations, and academic groups filed an amicus brief supporting a professor's appeal to reinstate his suit vs. the federal government.

The brief in Xi v. Haugen, pending in the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 

 calls on the US government to end the China Initiative, a policy launched by the Trump administration, that is being criticized for its discriminatory targeting and racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants.

“By targeting scientists for investigation based on their ancestry rather than evidence of crime and naming the China Initiative after those practices, the FBI and Justice Department perpetuate insidious stereotypes of Asian Americans as disloyal and inherently suspect,” noted Glenn Katon, litigation director at Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus. “Those FBI and Justice Department practices also divert resources from investigating real dangers to our communities.”

Advancing Justice - AAJC and Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus submitted the brief in support of Temple University Professor Xiaoxing Xi’s appeal to reinstate his claims for damages against the federal government for their discriminatory investigation and prosecution of charges that were later dismissed. 

In 2015, FBI agents entered Xi’s home with a battering ram, pointed guns at him, his wife, and two daughters, and arrested him. The government falsely accused him of sharing sensitive technology for a pocket heater with scientists in China, for which he faced potentially 80 years in prison and $1 million in fines. 

The Justice Department dismissed the indictment after federal agents learned that they had misunderstood the technology, and that universities regularly encourage academics to share this legally protected information.

“It is a very difficult fight for me, my wife, and my daughter to hold the government accountable for the wrong they did to us,” said Professor Xiaoxing Xi, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Physics at Temple University. 

“But we must do this because if they can violate our rights without any consequence, the lives of many more innocent people may be ruined like what happened to us. We will fight for as long as it takes, not just for ourselves, but for countless people who are being profiled by the Department of Justice because of their ethnicity or where they came from.”

“The U.S. government has an abysmal track record on the treatment of Asian American and immigrants and has often scapegoated our communities as national security threats,” said Gisela Kusakawa, staff attorney of Anti-Racial Profiling and Immigration at Advancing Justice - AAJC. 

“This has worsened under the Justice Department’s controversial ‘China Initiative,’ which has driven federal prosecutors and FBI agents to target Asian American and immigrant scientists based on their ethnicity. It’s time to end racial profiling starting with terminating this initiative now.”

The Asian American community, along with civil rights and academic groups, are standing in solidarity with Xi and his family in calling for government accountability for this injustice in their appeal after a federal district court dismissed nine of Professor Xi’s 10 claims.  

Xi is one of many Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, researchers annd academics across the country who have been targeted and profiled by the federal government and law enforcement allege critics of the initiative. 

“By targeting scientists for investigation based on their ancestry rather than evidence of crime and naming the China Initiative after those practices, the FBI and Justice Department perpetuate insidious stereotypes of Asian Americans as disloyal and inherently suspect,” noted Glenn Katon, litigation director at Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus. “Those FBI and Justice Department practices also divert resources from investigating real dangers to our communities.”

The amicus brief addresses the widespread prevalence of racial discrimination and profiling against Asian Americans and immigrants, particularly scientists and academics of Chinese descent in the last decade, when Xi was subjected to racially motivated actions alleged in his Complaint. 

The brief alleges that context reveals racial bias against persons of Chinese descent which has permeated federal agencies and influenced FBI training, investigations, and prosecutions, traumatizing families and undermining the credibility of our institutions.

“The government’s wrongful prosecution of Professor Xi had devastating consequences for him and his family. Years later, they are still dealing with the trauma of this ordeal,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project. “If the Xis are unable to hold the government accountable, there will be little to stop the government from profiling other Asian American scientists and upending more lives as a result.”

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

China Initiative: US drops charges against a Chinese American MIT professor

MIT

Charges against MIT professor Gang Chen have been dropped.

In a sign that the controversial China Initiative may be on its last legs, US prosecutors dropped charges against Gang Chen, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who has been accused of hiding his ties to China in federal research grant applications.

The indictment against Chen, a Chinese-born mechanical engineer and expert in nanotechnology, is one of several that have been brought under the  China Initiative, which was launched during the Trump administration but, according its critics, has resulted in racial profiling of Chinese and Chinese American academics and researchers.

AAPI community groups, political leaders, scientists and researchers have called for the end of the program.

“The China Initiative has had chilling effects on U.S. academic research and unjustly targeted Chinese American researchers through racial profiling,” said Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100. “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."

Many of the cases against Chinese researchers working for US companies or teaching at college campuses involve errors made in the convoluted process in applying for federal grant applications.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released guidance Jan. 14 to all federal agencies on updating the federal grant application process to create a uniform grant application across the federal government.

These grant applications frequently require disclosures about ties to foreign governments, but the lack of uniformity and clarity of procedures for completing these applications has resulted in researchers inadvertently making errors.

Chen had pleaded not guilty to the allegations, while MIT indicated that the funding in question -- $25 million -- was for the university, rather than for Chen personally.

“The China Initiative, launched by the Trump administration, is supposed to help stop espionage, but instead it has simply been an exercise in racial profiling, with just one conviction from over 150 defendants and at least 77 cases.," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA. "In fact, instead of finding evidence of espionage, most of the investigations under the China Initiative have been based on discrepancies in grant applications."

The threat of espionage is a real one that the government must remain vigilant against. But because the China Initiative prioritizes indictments of people with Chinese ancestry, what are often just paperwork mistakes are instead being used to ruin careers and lives.

Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) met with Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen Wednesday, to express CAPAC’s concerns about the China Initiative, which is under review by the Department. 

“CAPAC has long been calling for an end to the China Initiative, a Department of Justice program that began in the previous Administration, said Chu, CAPAC chair. "In the meeting, CAPAC members expressed their views that this initiative has fallen far short of its stated goal of addressing economic espionage, and has instead resulted in numerous false accusations against Chinese researchers and scientists based on their ethnicity."

Committee of 100 president Huang stated: "We support and sympathies go to Professor Chen and his family as they work to rebuild their lives. Committee of 100 supports the protection of our national security, but not at the expense of our cherished civil liberties. For too long, Chinese Americans and the AAPI community have been seen as the perpetual foreigner – strangers in our own homeland. Today, we are all Gang Chen and stand united.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a developing story. Check back later for any updates. For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

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.

New research shows significant racial disparities against Chinese and Asians in espionage prosecutions

The China Initiative undertaken during the Donald Trump administration has accused dozens
of Chinese researchers of improper relations with the Peoples Republic of China.

Defendants with Chinese and Asian names are punished more severely and arrested at a higher rate than whites accused of espionage, according to a new analysis released Tuesday.

From 1996 to 2020 of 276 individuals with Asian or Chinese names in 190 cases shows they are being prosecuted and punished more severely and arrested at a higher rate than Western defendants, says a study by the Committee of 100, an organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, and philanthropy.

Additionally, jail time for Chinese and Asian defendants is double compared to Western defendants and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is much more likely to publicize alleged “spying” by people with Asian names than alleged “spying” by people with Western names.

To download the full white paper, click here.

“This research is critical to understanding the racial discrimination and implicit bias that are the byproducts of a rush to ensure national security, which is making America a less attractive place for immigrants of all backgrounds," said Zheng Yu Huang, President of Committee of 100. 

"America is a place of law and justice, where our diversity is our strength,” said Huang.

These are just some of the conclusions drawn from a new detailed study “Racial Disparities in Economic Espionage Act Prosecutions: A Window into the New Red Scare.”

The study, co-led by Committee of 100 and Andrew Chongseh Kim, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Visiting Scholar at South Texas College of Law, analyzed court filings for all cases charged under the EEA from 1996 to 2020: 276 individual defendants charged across 190 cases, as coded in the Federal PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system. The study provides empirical data that individuals, particularly those with Chinese or Asian names, are disproportionately and adversely impacted under the EEA.

“We spent thousands of hours analyzing federal court filings and Department of Justice press releases. Unfortunately, the data reveals that Asian Americans and others of Asian descent are treated differently by our justice system,” said Andrew Chongseh Kim. 

“People of Asian descent are more likely to be accused of spying even though they are less likely to actually be convicted of those charges. Perhaps more troubling, the DOJ is much more likely to publicize allegations of spying when they involve people with Asian names. These findings suggest that ordinary Asian American citizens are becoming collateral damage in our efforts to protect America’s economy.”

Highlights from the white paper and research include:

• The percentage of Chinese and Asian defendants charged skyrocketed over the past decade. Prior to 2009, two-thirds of the defendants charged under the EEA were people with Western names, while 16% were people with Chinese names. However, since 2009, the majority of people charged with EEA offenses have been people of Chinese descent.

• Domestic espionage cases nearly as high as international cases. Although news stories focus on espionage for China, 42% of the defendants charged under the EEA were alleged to have stolen trade secrets for the benefit of an American business or person. 46% alleged theft for the benefit of China, while the remaining 12% alleged theft for the benefit of other countries, including Australia and Russia.

• Cases against college and university professors are not common. Although much has been written accusing faculty and staff at universities as agents of economic espionage, the actual charges against these defendants rarely include accusations of espionage. Only 3% of the alleged theft of trade secrets alleged under the EEA occurred in research institutions. These new findings raise concerns that the DOJ is searching for spies in the places they are least likely to find them.

• One in three Asian Americans accused of espionage have been falsely accused. This study found that 27% of presumed Asian American citizens charged under the EEA were not convicted of any crimes. An additional 6% of Asian Americans were convicted only of process offenses like false statements. In total, 1 in 3 Asian Americans accused of espionage may have been falsely accused.

• People of Chinese and Asian descent are punished twice as severely. Half of the defendants with Western names (49%) convicted under the EEA were given sentences of probation only, with no incarceration. In contrast, the vast majority of defendants of Asian descent (75%) were sent to prison, in particular defendants of Chinese descent (80%). Additionally, Chinese and Asian defendants convicted of economic espionage received average sentences of 27 and 23 months respectively, roughly twice as long as the average sentence of 12 months for defendants with Western names.

• Surprise arrests are higher for those of Chinese and Asian descent. Although movies and TV dramas inevitably highlight the “perp walk,” only 38% of EEA defendants with Western names were actually arrested and handcuffed. Instead, most defendants with Western names received a formal letter summoning them to court to face the charges against them. In contrast, the first time 69% of defendants of Asian descent and 78% of EEA defendants of Chinese descent, learned they had been charged was when they were arrested, generally with handcuffs.

• The DOJ publicizes EEA charges against people with Asian names more than EEA against people with Western names. The DOJ issues a press release announcing EEA charges in over 80% of cases that involve defendants with Asian names. In contrast, the DOJ issues press releases in only half (51%) of EEA cases involving defendants with Western names.

“We must recognize the racial stereotyping that the Chinese and Asian American communities have had to deal with for over two centuries, starting with the ‘Yellow Peril’ of the 19th century to the ‘perpetual foreigner’ stereotype that still exists today,” said Huang,

Judge acquits Chinese American researcher of espionage charges

University of Tennessee Professor Anming Hu

A federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee acquitted University of Tennessee (UT) Engineering Professor Anming Hu of all charges after his trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked. 

"Dr. Hu is finally free to return to his life and be reunited with his family," said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, said in a statement. But the "scars of the prosecution and investigation on Dr. Hu and his family are deep and long-lasting."

Dr. Hu’s case was the first to go to trial under the controversial U.S. Department of Justice's controversial China Initiative. The decision came after the U.S. government’s announcement to retry the case in July despite serious concerns voiced by elected officials, civil rights groups, and the Asian American community over the FBI’s conduct during the course of its investigation of Dr. Hu. 

U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan  wrote in his rulings: "[E]ven viewing all the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, no rational jury could conclude that defendant acted with a scheme to defraud NASA" in failing to disclose his affiliation with the Beijing University of Technology to UTK.

The judge added "there was no evidence presented that defendant ever collaborated with a Chinese university in conducting his NASA-funded research, or used facilities, equipment, or funds from a Chinese university in the course of such research."

The case against Hu was the first attempt at prosecuting a suspect under the Trump administration's China Initiative, that has come under fire from civil rights and AAPI community organizations.

"Although we celebrate this moment, we cannot forget the life-long consequences this injustice has had on Dr. Hu and his family," said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. 

"Dr. Hu has lost years of his life, his job, his immigration status, his ability to obtain future federal grants, and possibly his career," he added.

Yang continued: "What happened to Dr. Hu and his family is not an isolated event and is part of systemic racial bias, discrimination, and profiling by our federal government against scientists and researchers of Asian descent across the country. ... We must put a stop to the racial profiling and the criminalization of our communities today, starting with ending the China Initiative.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more commentary and references, follow me on Twitter @dioknoed.

A 'rogue' security unit targeted Asian American staff at the Commerce Department

A security unit within the Department of Commerce targeted Chinese American staff in their eagerness to find signs of foreign influence, according to Senate investigators' report.

The Commerce Department's Investigations and Threat Management Service acted like a “a rogue, unaccountable police force.”

The office operated far beyond the bounds of federal law enforcement norms and has created an environment of paranoia and retaliation at the department,' John Costello, a former deputy assistant secretary of intelligence and security at Commerce under President Trump, told the Washington Post.

The report found that the work of the unit — consumed by concerns about rampant Chinese espionage in the United States — racially profiled some of their suspects, and that its members used questionable tactics, such as sending masked agents to break into offices, and blocking surveillance cameras to search for incriminating evidence.

More than a dozen whistleblowers have given closed-door statements, among them former investigators who allege that the office routinely overstepped its legal limits and has operated without meaningful oversight from within Commerce since the mid-2000s.

The unit, led by career officer George D. Lee, specifically “targeted departmental divisions with comparably high proportions of Asian American employees.”

A former senior Commerce Department official interviewed by Senate investigators described the targeting of Asian American employees as a “fine line between extra scrutiny and xenophobia, and one that I.T.M.S. regularly crossed.”

Attempts to get response from Lee from various media have been unsuccessful.

Under the controversial China Initiative that came out of the Trump administration and meant to uncover suspected spies for the Peoples Republic of China, the Senate report explained how those fears fueled an aggressive, unauthorized counterespionage effort inside the Commerce Department that houses scientific agencies staffed by researchers from around the world. The result, it said, was a discriminatory effort to target and spy on people of Asian and Middle Eastern descent — many of them Asian Americans, but some from Iran and Iraq — even in the absence of reasonable suspicion, reports the New York Times.

One of the high-profile cases that came out of the unit's investigations involved Sherry Chen and described in the Senate report. 

Chen is an award-winning hydrologist at the National Weather Service and a naturalized American citizen born in China. She was accused of espionage, arrested and told she faced 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines. A week before she was scheduled to go on trial, prosecutors dropped all charges against Chen without explanation. With her career tarnished, she also was not allowed to return to her job.

The Biden administration stopped the unit's work in March. The complete Senate report will be issued later this year.

Biden urged to end Trump's China Initiative

President-elect Joe Biden, right, and China President Xi Jinping are not strangers.

As Donald Trump leaves Washington, Asian American community groups hopes his departure might also mean the end of the Department of Justice's "China Initiative."

A group of community organizations, advocacy groups, science associations, and individuals sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden urging the incoming administration to end the DOJ's China Initiative, which targets Chinese and Chinese American researchers and scientists.

The letter asks that Biden take further steps to combat the pervasive racial bias and racial profiling of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, researchers, and students by the federal government. 

“This latest wave of xenophobia against Asian Americans and Asian immigrants follows a long history of Asian Americans and immigrants being stereotyped as “perpetual foreigners,” scapegoated, and profiled as spies disloyal to the United States,” said John C. Yang, Advancing Justice – AAJC’s president and executive director. 

“Individual cases of wrongful arrests and prosecutions of Asian American scientists and researchers along with racial rhetoric from public officials reveal that racial bias exists and has translated into real harm for the Asian American community,”  he said.

Among the signatories are people who have been directly impacted by the government’s unjust prosecutions of Asian Americans.

The letter, spearheaded by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation, Brennan Center for Justice, and APA Justice Task Force, denounces the China Initiative for discriminatory investigations and prosecutions of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, particularly those of Chinese descent, working in fields of science.

“It is appropriate for the Justice Department to take measures to address the harms caused by agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who have engaged in economic espionage and trade secrets thefts,” says the letter. “However, naming only China in a DOJ initiative ignores threats of economic espionage by other nations. The label China Initiative itself is as unacceptable as ‘China Virus’” when referring tot he coronavirus.

Many of the investigations and prosecutions under this initiative target people with any “nexus to China” rather than on evidence of economic espionage as it purports to do, which has revealed a sharp rise in the profiling and targeting of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and researchers.

Even after not finding any evidence of espionage, federal prosecutors are charging many Asian Americans and Asian immigrants with federal crimes based on administrative errors or minor offenses such as failing to disclose information to universities or research institutions and other activities under the pretext of combating economic espionage. 

As a result, Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, researchers, and scholars are ensnared by overzealous prosecutions riddled with racial bias that are ruining careers and leaving lives in shambles. 

"Racial profiling has proven to be an ineffective, divisive, and counterproductive law enforcement tactic, and yet the Justice Department inexplicably still promotes its use through programs like the ‘China Initiative'," said Brennan Center fellow Michael German, a former FBI agent. 

"Pressuring all U.S. Attorneys' Offices to initiate 'China Initiative' cases compels racial, ethnic, and national origin profiling, which undermines our security and the rule of law by targeting investigations based on a person's 'nexus to China' rather than evidence of serious wrongdoing."

The letter includes a set of recommendations, which first calls for an immediate end to the China Initiative and a complete review of all prosecutions and investigations closed prior to prosecution under the initiative. 

It also urges the incoming administration to review and take measures throughout the Federal Government’s law enforcement, intelligence, and scientific research funding agencies to combat other patterns of racial bias against Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and federal employees. 

Even with a new administration coming in, China will likely continue to be tense over a number of issues including trade, military expansionism in the Philippines Sea and the theft of intellectual properties.

"Foreign-born scientists of Chinese origin have been an integral part of American innovation and global leadership,' said Professor Steven Pei, a leader for the APA Justice Task Force. 

"Our nation can protect our scientific and research security and successfully compete in the global marketplace for international scientific talent, but not by overzealous, xenophobic targeting of top talents that ruins lives and drives them to foreign countries that have been trying to recruit them unsuccessfully."

"Basing criminal investigations on national origin and Chinese ancestry is unconstitutional and a waste of resources," said Glenn Katon, Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus Director of Litigation. 

"When the government prosecutes scientists and researchers simply so public officials can look tough, no one is made safer," continued Katon. "The Biden Administration has the chance to protect Asian Americans and Asian immigrants across this country - they should take it." 

The letter and list of organizations and individuals that signed on can be found here.