January 5, 2021
Table of Contents
AAJC Delivered 30,000 Signatures to The White House
Education Webinar Series to Raise Awareness
Partners of the Webinar Series
Overview
On January 5, 2021, 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 Justice Department’s “China Initiative” and take further steps to combat the pervasive racial bias and targeting of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, researchers, and students by the federal government. 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. 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.
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. The letter and list of organizations and individuals that signed on can be found here.
“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.”
"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. The Biden administration has the chance to protect Asian Americans and Asian immigrants across this country - they should take it."
"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."
"Foreign-born scientists of Chinese origin have been an integral part of American innovation and global leadership. 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," said Professor Steven Pei, a leader for the APA Justice Task Force.
“We Are All Gang Chen”
On January 20, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment of renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Gang Chen 陈刚 for failing to disclose contracts, appointments and awards from various entities in the People’s Republic of China to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The case stirred controversy from the start, when then-U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling unveiled the charges at a news conference in Boston on the last full day of the Trump administration. “It is not illegal to collaborate with foreign researchers. It’s illegal to lie about it,” Lelling said. “The allegations in the complaint imply that this was not just about greed, but about loyalty to China.”
The indictment of Professor Gang Chen galvanized the Asian American and scientific communities and started the “We Are All Gang Chen” movement.
Exactly one year later on January 20, 2022, Judge Patti Saris approved the government's motion to dismiss all charges against Professor Chen.
Continuing the “We Are Gang Chen” movement, the Asian American Scholar Forum was founded in 2022 as a nonprofit organization to represent a community of Asian Americans and scholars who are united to promote academic belonging, openness, freedom, and equality for all by bringing their unique perspective, expertise, and concerns of Asian American and immigrant scholars directly to courtrooms, newsrooms, universities, federal agencies, the halls of Congress, and the White House.
This is a presentation in Professor Chen’s own words on his experience and lessons learned about the absurdity of the wrongful prosecution:
AAJC Delivered 30,000 Signatures to The White House
On April 9, 2021, Asian American Advancing Justice | AAJC delivered a petition signed by 29,318 people to the White House, urging President Joe Biden to put an end to the racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants and end the Justice Department’s “China Initiative.”
Education Webinar Series to Raise Awareness
From September 2020 to June 2021, five organizations partnered to produce a series of five educational webinars to raise awareness of a growing number of federal investigations and prosecutions targeting Chinese Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Chinese nationals in the U.S. particularly scientists and researchers under the umbrella of the China Initiative.
The webinar series examined the ramifications of the "China Initiative" on the civil rights and security of Chinese Americans, Chinese immigrants, and Chinese Nationals working in the U.S., as well as the consequences for the broader American society.
2020/09/30 First Webinar: The Human and Scientific Costs of The "China Initiative” (video 1:00:15)
2020/12/02 Second Webinar: Policy Needs for U.S. Science and Scientists (video 1:13:35)
2021/02/24 Third Webinar: Building Coalition Against “China Initiative” Discrimination: Fighting racial targeting of Asian Americans and communities of color, past & present (video 1:16:13)
2021/04/28 Fourth Webinar: Legal Resources and Policy Advocacy: How to Combat Racial Profiling Under the “China Initiative" (video 1:05:36)
2021/06/23 Fifth Webinar: The Mistrial of Professor Anming Hu under the "China Initiative" (video 1:12:52)
Partners of the Webinar Series
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) advocates for an America which all Americans can benefit equally from, and contribute to, the American dream. Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights for Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Advancing Justice | AAJC is a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 in Washington, D.C.
The APA Justice Task Force is a non-partisan platform to build a sustainable ecosystem to address racial profiling issues and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian American community.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary, defend – our country's systems of democracy and justice.
Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization with a diverse membership representing all communities throughout the nation. It strives to inspire, engage, and empower the public about public policy and how to foster future leaders from minority communities to serve at federal, state, and local levels in the government.
United Chinese Americans (UCA) has been a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization since 2017. It is a national federation with 12 chapters and over 30 community partners. The UCA is to enrich and empower Chinese American communities through civic participation, political engagement, youth education and development, preservation of heritage and culture, promoting a better understanding between the United States and China, for the well-being of our community, our country, and our world.
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AAJC Delivered 30,000 Signatures to The White House
On January 5, 2021, a coalition of organizations and individuals wrote to President-elect Joe Biden, requesting him to end the China Initiative and take steps to combat racial profiling. Two weeks later, the indictment of MIT Professor Gang Chen ignited the “We Are All Gang Chen” movement. Between September 2020 and June 2021, five organizations partnered to produce a series of five educational webinars to raise nationwide awareness about the China Initiative.