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#258 6/3 Monthly Meeting; Chinese Students; Clear&Fair Law Enforcement; 6/6 Forum with FBI+

In This Issue #258

·       2024/06/03 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

·       Bloomberg: Expulsions of Chinese Students Spread Confusion from Yale to UVA

·       An Urgent Call for Clear and Fair Law Enforcement Guidelines and Procedures for Research Security

·       06/06: An Open and Public Community Forum with The FBI

·       News and Activities for the Communities

 

2024/06/03 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

 

The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, June 3, 2024, starting at 1:55 pm ET.In addition to updates by Nisha Ramachandran, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Joanna YangQing Derman, Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC; and Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), confirmed speakers are:

 

·       Tam Dao, Assistant Vice President for Research Security, Office of Innovation, Rice University, will report on the future of the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Research on Research Security program

·       Haipei Shue, President, United Chinese Americans, will report on the 2024 Chinese American Convention

·       Jeremy Wu, Co-Organizer, APA Justice, will preview an alpha version of a web page on the story of exonerated Professor Anming Hu

·       Anming Hu, Professor, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, will give an update of his situation and his family since the end of his ordeal under the China Initiative.

 

The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. It is closed to the press. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org

Bloomberg: Expulsions of Chinese Students Spread Confusion from Yale to UVA


 

According to Bloomberg on May 29, 2024, Customs agents at US airports have barred entry to at least 20 students and scholars with valid visas since November in ‘more insidious’ version of disbanded China Initiative.Susan, a second-year Ph.D. student in biomedical imaging at the University of Virginia, faced relentless questioning from a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent upon her return from visiting her parents in China. Accused of ties to the Chinese Communist Party, her student visa was abruptly canceled, forcing her to purchase a $1,400 ticket back to Beijing and barring her from the U.S. for five years. Her experience is part of a broader trend where at least 20 Chinese students from prestigious universities have had their visas revoked since November. The Chinese government and lawyers confirmed these accounts, highlighting the lack of transparency and public accountability in these decisions. These actions contradict the efforts to foster educational and cultural exchanges endorsed by U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.The expulsions reveal internal divisions within the Biden administration, where Customs agents under the Department of Homeland Security are canceling visas approved by the State Department. The Biden administration ended the controversial China Initiative but has continued similar practices covertly, impacting Ph.D. students and researchers without public scrutiny. Susan and others, like Meng Fei, a fifth-year Ph.D. student at Yale, have faced racial and gender discrimination, with their exclusions linked to vague national security concerns under Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10043. This proclamation targets students with alleged ties to Chinese military-civil fusion, yet the specifics remain undisclosed, causing confusion and fear among affected students.

 

Universities like the University of Virginia and Yale are striving to support their students by seeking clarity and providing legal assistance. However, the ongoing lack of clear guidelines and coordination between federal agencies leaves many students in limbo, disrupting their academic and personal lives. As the U.S. grapples with balancing national security and academic freedom, the impact on foreign-born researchers like Susan underscores the need for transparent and consistent policies to ensure fairness and uphold the integrity of educational exchanges.

 

Two years ago, the Biden administration ended a controversial Trump-era policy known as the China Initiative that purported to root out spies but resulted in more ruined careers than successful prosecutions. Now that program has been succeeded by a piecemeal effort — one that’s largely hidden from public view. Instead of targeting prominent academics, Customs agents are expelling Ph.D. and postdoctoral students, as well as company employees, by secret administrative actions with no public accountability or right to appeal.Marta Meng, founder of the Meng Law Group in Covina, California, who represents Susan and three other expelled students seeking to overturn their bans, said no reason was given to her clients or in transcripts of the airport interviews that she has reviewed.Dan Berger, Meng Fei's lawyer, said he can’t understand why his client would have been subject to PP 10043, as nothing in her background indicates ties to any of the banned universities or to state funding, and her visa was renewed by the State Department just last year. 

 

That’s a problem for learning institutions, said Toby Smith, who handles government relations and public policy at the Association of American Universities, which acts on behalf of 71 research universities including the University of Virginia, Yale and other schools with recently banned students. “Despite asking for additional clarity, the specific items that would result in visa denial for Chinese graduate students under Proclamation 10043 have never been disclosed to our universities,” he said. “So we have been left only to speculate as to what might spark such denials.”

 

The secrecy makes what’s going on “much more insidious now,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, executive director of the Asian American Scholar Forum, a nonprofit organization that promotes academic freedom.

 

“The end of the China Initiative wasn’t the end, they’re just not calling it that anymore,” said Ivan Kanapathy, senior vice president at Beacon Global Strategies, a national security advisory firm in Washington, and a former National Security Council official in the Trump administration.

When the Biden administration ended the China Initiative, it said that a 2021 national security memorandum about vetting foreign students would remain in effect. It instructs the State Department to work with Homeland Security to ensure that the granting of visas reflects “the changing nature of risks” to US research. But it doesn’t specify what those risks are or how the agencies should be coordinating enforcement.

 

“The question is, who is coordinating the whole thing, the guidelines and procedures for law enforcement,” said Steven Pei, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Houston and co-organizer of the Asian Pacific American Justice Task Force, which advocates against racial discrimination. “We are trying hard to balance national security, US competitiveness with China in high tech and civil rights,” he said. “But this top-level policy has not trickled down.”Read the Bloomberg report: https://bloom.bg/3wRL4O3

 

 

An Urgent Call for Clear and Fair Law Enforcement Guidelines and Procedures for Research Security


 

Neal Lane*Steven Pei*, and Jeremy Wu* posted a public commentary, calling for the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other federal law enforcement agencies to coordinate their policies using comparable principles and set clear, fair guidelines and procedures.Our scientific success is rooted in core values, including collaboration, honesty, transparency, integrity, the fair competition of ideas, and the protection of intellectual capital. Some foreign entities do not share these values and are working to illicitly acquire our research and innovation.  This necessitates laws – and law enforcement.But it is vital that law enforcement guidelines and procedures be clear and fair for maintaining public trust, upholding individual rights, and promoting accountability and consistency within the justice system. Otherwise, we can expect our competitive edge in science and technology to wane, as well as our standing as a leading democracy.With its sharp focus on research security, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has set a balanced path to guide policies of federal agencies that support research. There is a similar need for the FBI, HSI, and other federal law enforcement agencies to coordinate their policies using comparable principles and set clear, fair guidelines and procedures.Given OSTP’s unique role and capability within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), it should also coordinate with all key law enforcement agencies to close the apparent gap in communication between national science and technology policy set by NSTC and agents at the forefront of law enforcement. In doing so, it can protect America’s security and economic competitiveness while minimizing the unintended negative impact and associated chilling effects on the science and technology community.

 

* Dr. Neal Lane is Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute, Rice University, and Former Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House. Dr. Steven Pei is Co-Organizer of APA Justice; Founding Chair of United Chinese Americans; and Professor at the University of Houston. Dr. Jeremy Wu is Co-Organizer of APA Justice; Member of Committee of 100; and Retired from the Federal Government.Read the full commentary: https://bit.ly/3yDRaSB

 

06/06: An Open and Public Community Forum with The FBI


 

On June 6, 2024, the Baker Institute and the Office of Innovation at Rice University, the Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition, and APA Justice will co-host a hybrid forum titled "A Dialogue Between the Academic and Asian American Communities and the FBI."  Registration for in-person attendance and Zoom webinar is now open.

 

In 2022, the Department of Justice ended its China Initiative — a strategy to counter Chinese espionage and threats to U.S. research security — after academic and civil rights groups raised concerns about bias and damage to the United States’ scientific enterprise. However, there were several recent media reports of border entry issues for Chinese graduate students and academic researchers who are green card-holders and even American citizens.

 

This event brings together Jill Murphy, deputy assistant director of counterintelligence at the FBI, and the leadership of the FBI’s Houston field office for a dialogue with members of the academic and Asian American communities. It will examine gaps between national science and technology policy and its implementation. It will also explore the possibility of establishing a regular communication channel between the academic and Asian American communities with FBI field offices.

 

Register to join the forum in person: https://bit.ly/4aFwvuK.  Register to join the forum via Zoom: https://bit.ly/3wjg759.  


 

 

News and Activities for the Communities

1.  APA Justice Community Calendar


Upcoming Events:2024/05/31 A Discussion on the History of Discrimination Against Asian Americans2024/06/03 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/06/06 A Dialogue Between Academic/AAPI Communities with The FBI2024/06/20 U.S.-China Relations: Untangling Campaign Rhetoric & Understanding Policy – Teachers Workshop2024/06/20-22 Social Equity Leadership ConferenceVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details.

 

2.  MOCA Forum: A Discussion on the History of Discrimination Against Asian Americans


 

WHAT: A Discussion on the History of Discrimination Against Asian AmericansWHEN: May 31, 2024, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm ETWHERE: 215 Centre Street, New York, NYHOST: Museum of Chinese in AmericaMODERATOR: Scott Wong. Reporter, NBC NewsSPEAKERS:

·       Christopher P. Lu, U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform

·       Mark Takano, Member, U.S. House of Representatives 

DESCRIPTION: From the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese incarceration to recent hate crimes, a discussion on the history of discrimination against Asian Americans.REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3yG2ltY

 

3.  WHIAANHPI Celebrates 25th Anniversary


 

On June 7, 1999, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13125 establishing a White House Initiative and presidential advisory commission dedicated to improving the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.  Over the course of 25 years and five presidential administrations, the size and scope of these entities have evolved. But the full story of how they came to be has rarely been told.On May 17, 2024, The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) posted a documentary video titled "Lasting Legacies - The White House Initiative on AA and NHPIs Turns 25”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9nw4TL80yI (10:29)

 

 

 

4.  Two New Pandas Coming to Washington DC


 

 

According to multiple media reports, months after the nation’s capital bid an emotional farewell to its giant pandas, the National Zoo is expecting a renewed surge in panda-mania with the announcement that two more of the furry black-and-white icons will be coming to Washington DC.A fresh agreement had been struck with the Chinese government, and a pair of adult pandas would be arriving from China by the end of the year. The incoming pair are Bao Li and Qing Bao.  Both are two years old.Pandas have been a symbol of U.S.-China friendship since Beijing sent a pair to the National Zoo in 1972, ahead of the normalization of bilateral relations. Later, Beijing loaned pandas to other U.S. zoos, with proceeds going back to panda conservation programs.

May 31, 2024

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