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Newsletter - #216 Florida Land Law Condemned; Anti-Chinese Immigrant Smears; NIH Hearing/Draft Policy; + #216 Florida Land Law Condemned; Anti-Chinese Immigrant Smears; NIH Hearing/Draft Policy; + In This Issue #216 · Krishnamoorthi Condemns Unfair Targeting of PRC Nationals by Florida Land Ownership Law · How Florida Land Law Has Affected Buyers and Real Estate Agents · Nebraska Governor Dismisses Reporter as Being "from Communist China" · NIH Director Hearing and Draft Scientific Integrity Policy for Public Comment · News and Activities for the Communities Krishnamoorthi Condemns Unfair Targeting of PRC Nationals by Florida Land Ownership Law On October 20, 2023, Raja Krishnamoorti , Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on The CCP, issued a statement following reports of PRC (People's Republic of China) nationals being unfairly targeted for attempting to become homeowners in the state of Florida due to a recent law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis . Florida’s Senate Bill 264 would prohibit individuals who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents and whose “domicile” is in the PRC from owning or purchasing any real property. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, in commenting on the extreme nature of the law, stated that it would, “cause serious harm to people simply because of their national origin, contravene federal civil rights laws, undermine constitutional rights, and will not advance the state’s purported goal of increasing public safety.” “A law preventing grandparents from purchasing a home close to their grandchildren so they can spend time with family does nothing to make America more secure or more competitive against the Chinese Communist Party. The implementation of Florida’s law is ambiguous, unclear, and opens the door for discrimination against all AAPI homebuyers. America has an unfortunate history of actions targeting the AAPI community’s ability to own land; it’s a history we should learn from and seek to not repeat. Protecting the rights of individuals simply attempting to achieve the American Dream should be a bipartisan priority. Florida should repeal this law and Congress should explore actions to ensure the rights of all are fairly protected.” How Florida Land Law Has Affected Buyers and Real Estate Agents According to NBC News , three months after Florida banned many Chinese citizens from owning property, some real estate agents say they are losing business as families across the state are walking away from deals, while some brokers say they feel forced to racially profile people and turn down business. Longtime Florida resident Kristen Zhang was thrilled when last year her parents in China decided to buy a new house nearby, built from the ground up, in Orlando. After being separated during the pandemic, they’d finally be able to spend time with their grandkids. But in May Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bipartisan law, SB 264, banning certain Chinese nationals from buying property in the state to counter “the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the state of Florida.” Zhang’s parents had to abandon their plans this summer, finally canceling the contract last month.A group of Chinese immigrants, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups, have been pushing to invalidate the new law. The Justice Department backed their effort in a filing this summer, saying the measure is unconstitutional, but a judge ruled against the challenge in August, teeing up an appeal. Chinese buyers and Florida real estate agents say the law is ambiguous and has introduced confusion and a growing risk of discrimination. Sellers who knowingly violate the restrictions could face up to one year in prison and $1,000 in fines, and Chinese nationals who buy property in Florida face even higher potential fines and up to five years in prison. Frank Lin , a veteran Florida real estate agent who works mainly with Chinese buyers in both the United States and overseas, said his business has already been cut in half as he turns down clients and tries to comply with the law. In addition to limits on new homebuyers, Chinese nationals who already own property in Florida are required by the new law to register with the state’s Commerce Department, “but they don’t even have a form yet or place or website, so that’s confused everyone,” Lin said. Failure to register by 2024 could trigger fines of up to $1,000 a day. Many in the Asian American community argue that the Florida law resembles xenophobic “alien land laws” of the early 20th century that were later deemed unconstitutional. Enacted in the decades following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the measures — passed in places from California to Texas and Wyoming — were tailored to keep Asian immigrants in particular from owning land. Florida didn’t repeal its own version, from 1926, until 2018, a decade after an earlier attempt failed. The state’s new restrictions cover both commercial and residential property. They apply to Chinese nationals who aren’t U.S. citizens or permanent residents and already have primary homes in China. The law also restricts buyers from a handful of other “foreign countries of concern,” including Cuba and Venezuela, but doesn’t outright ban them. The penalties for both buyers and sellers from those two countries are lower: 60 days in prison and a $500 fine.Some Florida real estate agents say the law compels them to vet potential clients in unrealistic and uncomfortable ways.“If somebody comes in and is Asian-looking, you’re automatically going to start asking questions about where you’re from, which never used to happen,” said Khalid Muneer , founder of Jupiter Properties in Central Florida and president of the Greater Orlando chapter of the Asian American Realtors Association. “Is this racism? Is this stereotyping? We are very well aware of the fact that we can have issues. We can be accused of discrimination,” Muneer said. Some of his associates with heavily Chinese or Venezuelan clienteles have seen a “major, major drop in business,” he said. "Are we supposed to be FBI agents investigating people and asking them all kinds of questions?” Florida received 23% of all foreign buyers nationwide, a higher share than any other state, according to the National Association of Realtors. And five percent of Florida’s closed sales were to foreign buyers, according to a separate report from Florida Realtors. However, the bulk of Florida’s foreign buyers are Latin American, at 46%, and Canadian, at 24%. Among Chinese buyers, California is the most popular destination, drawing 33% of Chinese buyers to Florida’s 16%. After losing their case in August, the group of Chinese immigrants, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups, that had sued to block the law filed an appeal, arguing that the measure uses “obvious proxies” to discriminate. “The law is upending peoples’ lives,” said Patrick Toomey , deputy director of the ACLU National Security Project, “and making it far more challenging for immigrants to prosper economically in the state.”Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/492fdIM 1. Arkansas orders Chinese company’s subsidiary to divest itself of agricultural land According to AP , Arkansas ordered the subsidiary of a Chinese-owned company to divest itself of 160 acres of agricultural land, the first such action under a wave of new laws across the country restricting foreign ownership of farmland. Attorney General Tim Griffin said Northrup King Seed Co. has two years to divest the property in Craighead County under legislation passed by the majority-Republican Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year. Northrup is a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, which is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company. Syngenta said it was disappointed in the state’s decision about its land, which the company has owned since 1988. The company said no one from China has ever directed its executives to buy, lease or otherwise engage in land acquisition. “Our people in Arkansas are Americans led by Americans who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers. This action hurts Arkansas farmers more than anyone else,” the company said. Concern has been growing in many states about foreign ownership of farmland. Prior to this year, 14 states had laws prohibiting or restricting foreign ownership and investments in private farmland. But that ballooned to 24 states this year as lawmakers in nearly three-quarters of states considered legislation on the topic, according to The National Agriculture Law Center at the University of Arkansas. The enforcement action by Arkansas’ attorney general is the first under the wave of new laws, many of which specifically targeted investments from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, said Micah Brown , a staff attorney at the agricultural law center.Read the AP report: https://bit.ly/3FoQsJ1 2. What foreign interests control Nebraska farmland? According to Farm Progress on October 18, 2023, about 1.6% of Nebraska land is controlled by foreign interests. Canada is the largest foreign holder of land in the state. China is far down the list of known entities with only 19 acres in the name of Syngenta, owned by ChemChina, in Hamilton County.On the U.S. national foreign investor list, China is 18th with 194,772 acres. Canada tops the national list with over 9.6 million acres, followed by the Netherlands with 4.377 million acres and Italy with 2.609 million acres — with the United Kingdom and Portugal rounding out the top five.Read the Farm Progress report: https://bit.ly/45HF4T6 3. Texas SB51/HB124 and Latest Tracking Map and Bills Although the 2023 Texas legislative session ended on May 29, Governor Greg Abbott has called three special sessions and the third is still ongoing. On October 9, 2023, Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst introduced Senate Bill (SB) 51; a companion House Bill (HB) 124 sponsored by State Rep. Steve Toth was introduced two days later on October 11. SB51 is a reincarnation of SB147 which failed to become law in this year's legislative session. According to Advancing Justice | AAJC, the state laws may be further categorized into Agricultural Land (AL), Critical Infrastructure (CI), Real Property (RP), or a combination. APA Justice tracks the alien land laws with a map and a list of all known state bills and laws at https://bit.ly/43oJ0YI . Nebraska Governor Dismisses Reporter as Being "from Communist China" According to NBC News on October 18, 2023, a reporter of Chinese descent is speaking out, weeks after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen dismissed her article on his company, Pillen Family Farms, because “the author is from Communist China.” Yanqi Xu, 27, who is an immigrant from China and reports for the independent outlet Flatwater Free Press , told NBC News that Pillen's comments were a form of “bias.” Pillen, a Republican, had made the remarks on Omaha radio station KFAB in September, after he was asked to respond to her article that found high levels of nitrate on his hog farms. “Number 1, I didn’t read it. And I won’t,” Pillen said on the air about Xu’s article. “Number 2, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from Communist China. What more do you need to know?” With Xu’s blessing and after consulting with immigration lawyers to ensure her visa status wouldn’t be compromised — Matt Wynn , executive director of the Nebraska Journalism Trust, which launched the Flatwater Free Press , published a column in her defense. “Yanqi has been in the United States since 2017 … This, she said, is the first time anyone has written her off based on her origin. And it was broadcast, over the air, by the governor of Nebraska,” Wynn wrote. “As an employer, that infuriates me. As a believer in democracy and a free press, it saddens me. As a Nebraskan, it embarrasses me.” “I think it’s important to speak up and it can be really, really hard at first because in some ways, it made you the center of the story,” Xu said. “Especially as a woman of color, if the other person who made such a comment about you is the most powerful person in the state, how do you respond? But I think for me, I found myself coming back to this point of: If I don’t do it, who would? ... I think it’s also super important for other Chinese Americans or other Chinese immigrants to understand that our newsroom thinks it’s not right for the governor to say something like this.”“The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) stands with Yanqi Xu, the Flatwater Free Press journalist who was the target of remarks that attempted to dismiss her reporting because of her country of origin,” the AAJA said in a statement. “Having an independent and diverse press corps is essential to democracy, and Xu, an investigative reporter who grew up in China, deserves to do her job without being judged because of her nationality.”Rep. Judy Chu , chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, condemned Pillen, describing his remarks as a "baseless xenophobic attack." She called on him to apologize to Xu and her outlet. "Failing to do so only contributes to more hostility and suspicion of people from China and Asian Americans broadly,” Chu said. Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/3Ql8wtY According to AP on October 19, 2023, tweets have flooded in, offering Xu support as the column began to circulate, and she said she was “deeply, deeply moved.”Among those tweeting was Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt who called the governor’s remark “Racist and disgusting.” Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh retweeted the rebuke and chastised the governor in a phone interview.Asian Americans have increasingly been the target of racially motivated harassment and assaults in recent years, particularly since the coronavirus pandemic began, with many worrying that anti-Asian rhetoric linked to fraught relations between the U.S. and China could lead to more violence.With the pandemic raging, CNN reporter Natasha Chen went on the air to describe how a Florida beachgoer told her to get out of the country and that she was responsible because of her ethnicity.U.S. reporters also have been singled out. In 2020, Weijia Jiang of CBS News asked President Donald Trump a question about the pandemic. Trump said that “maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me. Ask China that question.” Jiang — who was born in Xiamen, China, and emigrated with her family to West Virginia when she was 2 — wondered why the president directed that remark to her. Trump said he would say it to “anyone who asks a nasty question.” Naomi Tacuyan Underwood , executive director of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), described what happened to Xu in an interview as another example of how “people always resort to the perpetual foreigner trope and question our loyalties.” AAJA issued a statement that it stands with Flatwater Free Press journalist Yanqi Xu, who was the target of comments about her nationality .Read the AP report: https://bit.ly/45AwllL 1. ‘My comments were my comments’: Gov. Pillen responds to criticism of ‘outright racist’ remarks According to Nebraska Examiner , Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on October 20 addressed for the first time national criticism he has faced after dismissing a Chinese reporter’s work because of her nationality. During his appearance with KFAB, Pillen said Nebraska is the “most welcoming” state in the nation. National and local groups have since said that notion is undermined by Pillen’s remarks. “The opportunity is still there for an apology,” Matt Wynn, executive director of the Nebraska Journalism Trust, said. “I think it is the right and decent thing to do.” Read the Nebraska Examiner report: https://bit.ly/3FoIKyq 2. Conservative group smears a Chinese immigrant running for office According to Northwest Asian Weekly , an email implying that a candidate for the Newcastle City Council is a “member of the Chinese Communist Party” was denounced by civil rights groups as drawing upon a history of anti-Asian and anti-immigrant rhetoric and violence. It was considered particularly incendiary since anti-Asian hate speech has preceded and spilled over into violence against Asians and Asian Americans during the pandemic. Newcastle is 53% populated by residents of color and 34% by Asians. “A racist, red-baiting, anti-immigrant, anti-Chinese email was recently sent out by a group calling themselves the Newcastle Watchdogs. In it, these ‘watchdogs’ attack Sun Burford , candidate for Newcastle City Council, using innuendo, insinuation, and libelous statements to demean and discredit her in the eyes of Newcastle voters,” said Stanley N. Shikuma , co-president of the Japanese American Citizens League, Seattle Chapter. “They would have us believe that she is part of some sinister Chinese plot to infiltrate the Newcastle City Council. They play upon her status as an immigrant, her ethnicity, and current rivalries with China to appeal to old prejudices and stir up new fears.”Newcastle Watchdogs, a conservative organization co-founded by a former Newcastle city councilmember, branded Burford a Chinese Communist sleeper agent—because she held a city planning job in China three decades ago before immigrating to the United States, a position she disclosed in her city planning application.OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates—Greater Seattle Chapter repudiated the smear. “For centuries, Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have been labeled as ‘perpetual foreigners,’ and accused of dual loyalty to their ancestral country and United States—often used as a scare tactic against our community,” said Connie So , president. “The language that our leaders use is important. Following this week’s report of anti-China language being used in a local election, we demand that all candidates refrain from using harmful rhetoric that is based on an individuals’ race as a political tactic. Elections should be about issues, not unfounded personal attacks. Period.”Read the Northwest Asian Weekly report: https://bit.ly/49eOkS3 NIH Director Hearing and Draft Scientific Integrity Policy for Public Comment According to Nature , the Senate hearing on the nomination of Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) highlighted the politicization of science in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The nominee, Monica Bertagnolli, hinted during the hearing what her priorities will be for the biomedical agency if she is confirmed. At the top of the list is improving the diversity of clinical-trial participants, enhancing collaboration among the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers, and restoring public trust in scientists and the agency. The 2-hour confirmation hearing on October 18, 2023, comes nearly two years after the NIH’s former director, geneticist Francis Collins, stepped down following more than 12 years in the top role. (Lawrence Tabak has been serving as acting director in the interim.) In May 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Bertagnolli, who is the current head of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), to lead the NIH. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the NIH typically saw yearly budget increases and enjoyed bipartisan support for its mission. The hearing made clear how politically charged the agency’s research portfolio has become since then, underscoring challenges that Bertagnolli might face as director of the sprawling agency, which is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, with an annual budget of about US$47 billion. During the COVID-19 pandemic, after some Republican lawmakers made unsubstantiated claims that the NIH’s funding of coronavirus research in China could have played a part in causing the worldwide crisis. Their colleagues in the US House of Representatives have been holding hearings about the origins of the virus that have scrutinized Collins and the former head of the NIH’s infectious-diseases branch, Anthony Fauci .On March 23, 2023, Science published " Pall of Suspicion ," detailing NIH’s “China Initiative” led by Michael Lauer that has upended hundreds of lives and destroyed scores of academic careers.The committee will meet again on Wednesday, October 25, to decide whether to advance Bertagnolli’s nomination to a full Senate vote. The full Senate is expected to vote on the nomination before the end of the year. Read the Nature report: https://go.nature.com/46CZT3p . Watch the hearing and read Dr. Bertagnolli's written testimony at: https://bit.ly/48WSbTE NIH Draft Scientific Integrity Policy for Public Comment NIH has developed a DRAFT Scientific Integrity Policy, and seeks information regarding the draft policy from all interested individuals and communities, including, but not limited to, investigators, research institutions, libraries, scientific societies, healthcare providers, patients, students, educators, research participants, and other members of the public. While comments are welcome on all elements of the DRAFT NIH Scientific Integrity Policy, input would be most welcome on the specific items identified below, as they represent additions to existing NIH scientific integrity practices: · Role and Responsibilities of the NIH Scientific Integrity Officer (SIO) · Role and Responsibilities of the NIH Chief Scientist (CS) · Responsibilities of the NIH Scientific Integrity Council · Prohibitions against Political Interference Read the DRAFT NIH Scientific Integrity Policy: https://bit.ly/403HvOZ . Read the Federal Register notice for additional information: https://bit.ly/3Q4fKkF . Send your comments to NIH here: https://bit.ly/3Qtdo0b News and Activities for the Communities APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2023/10/25-26 President's Advisory Commission Meeting 2023/10/25 Senate Hearing on Nomination of NIH Director 2023/10/29 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall Meeting 2023/11/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall Meeting 2023/11/06 APA Justice November 2023 Monthly Meeting 2023/11/11 ACP 2023 MetroCon Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. Back View PDF October 23, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Gang Chen 陈刚 Docket ID: 1:21-cr-10018 District Court, D. Massachusetts Date filed: Jan 19, 2021 Date ended: January 20, 2022 Table of Contents Overview Personal Background “We Are All Gang Chen” Federal Charges Dropped 2022/01/21 Boston Globe Opinion 2022/02/07 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Gang Chen Moves Forward Photo Album & Links and References Overview On January 19, 2021, the last full day of the Trump administration, Gang Chen, Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was indicted 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. His arrest was announced earlier on January 14, 2021. Professor Chen’s case was identified as part of the China Initiative. Gang was not indicted for theft of trade secrets or industrial espionage – the type of cases the initiative was supposed to bring – but rather for paperwork violations. When then-U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling unveiled the charges at a news conference in Boston, he said, “the allegations in the complaint imply that this was not just about greed, but about loyalty to China.” Professor Chen's case ignited the "We Are All Gang Chen" movement, advocating not just for his cause, but also against racial profiling, violations of academic freedom, and discrimination experienced by individuals of Chinese descent in the United States. A year later, the Department of Justice dropped all charges against Professor Chen “in the interests of justice.” Professor Chen describes himself to be the luckiest among the unlucky because he had full support from MIT, its faculty members, and the Asian Pacific American and scientific communities. “What I endured was not an isolated incident, but the result of a long American history of scapegoating and harmful policy making. Having secured our seat at the table, we must remain engaged, committed, and vigilant to prevent civil rights abuses for the next generation,” he said. Personal Background Professor Gang Chen was born in China and moved to the United States to pursue his education. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. Gang earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in China before obtaining his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. His doctoral advisor was Professor Chang-lin Tien, the seventh Chancellor of UC Berkeley (1990–1997) and the first Asian to head a major university in the U.S. Gang joined the MIT faculty in 2001after serving on the faculty of Duke University and UCLA. He is a world-renowned scientist in the field of mechanical engineering, specializing in nanotechnology and renewable energy research. He served as the head of the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering from 2013 to 2018. He is a member of the US Academy of Engineering, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Science. Throughout his career, Gang has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to science and engineering. He has also been actively involved in mentoring students and promoting diversity and inclusion in academia. Professor Chen is among the world’s most cited researchers in the physics and materials categories. He has supervised more than 80 M.S. and Ph.D. student theses and has over 60 postdoctoral visiting scholars. “We Are All Gang Chen” In response to Professor Chen’s arrest on January 14, 2021, MIT President L. Rafael Reif wrote to the MIT community stating: "For all of us who know Gang, this news is surprising, deeply distressing and hard to understand." On January 21, 2021, more than 100 MIT Faculty submitted a letter to Reif, protesting Professor Chen's arrest and citing specific "deeply flawed and misleading statements" in the criminal complaint ending with "We Are All Gang Chen." The letter was spearheaded by Yoel Fink, a materials science professor at the university; it was tweeted next morning and eventually signed by over 200 MIT faculty. On January 22, 2021, Reif wrote to the MIT community, clarifying the nature of the MIT engagement with the university in Shenzhen, China. “While Professor Chen is its inaugural MIT faculty director, this is not an individual collaboration; it is a departmental one, supported by the Institute,” Reif wrote. Gang’s daughter started a GoFundMe campaign which reached its fundraising goal of $400,000 in three days. A “We Are All Gang Chen” campaign was also started on Change.com by Professor Jeff Snyder from Northwestern University. Federal Charges Dropped On February 4, 2021, Professor Chen filed a motion to sanction U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling for his false extra-judicial statements that jeopardize Gang’s ability to receive a fair trial, including his questioning of Gang’s loyalty to the U.S. On July 6, 2021, U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell ruled that although Lelling’s statement was “inappropriate,” but it did not rise to the level of sanction. Lelling had already resigned effective February 28, 2021. On January 20, 2022, the Department of Justice dismissed all criminal charges against Professor Chen. Based on additional information, the U.S. Attorney’s office concluded that it can no longer meet its burden of proof at trial. The dismissal is “in the interests of justice.” 2022/01/21 Boston Globe Opinion On January 21, 2022, Professor Chen issued a statement, part of which was published as an opinion in the Boston Globe. Gang spoke out about his traumatic experience when federal agents raided his home, arresting him. Despite previous assurances by Stephanie Siegmann, assistant US Attorney, he was suddenly indicted after being interrogated at the airport a year earlier. He and his family suffered for 371 days. Gang said the prosecution was politically and racially motivated, tarnishing his reputation and harming his family, institute, and the scientific community. He criticizes the FBI and prosecutors for errors in his case, urging Congress and the US Department of Justice to investigate and hold those responsible accountable. Gang highlights the flaws of the China Initiative and calls for learning from mistakes rather than blindly moving forward. His son, Andrew Chen, also issued a statement about the dismissal. 2022/02/07 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Professor Chen and his defense attorney Robert Fisher joined the APA Justice monthly meeting ( video 1:26:07) on February 7, 2022, and shared the lessons learned from Gang's case. Robert explained how he and Gang's legal team handled Gang's case. The investigation actually started in January 2020 when he was stopped by federal officials at the airport, not just a year before as reported. Gang's devices were seized, and he was interrogated for three hours. It is crucial to have a lawyer present during such encounters to avoid misinterpretations. After Gang hired Robert as his lawyer, they tried to get information from the government about the case, but they were not invited for a discussion as is customary. Despite investigations by Robert's team and Wilmer Hale LLP, no issues were found. Gang was charged, arrested, and indicted quickly, indicating a rushed process. Gang's legal team fought back by filing motions against inaccuracies in public statements and requesting critical documents. Ultimately, the evidence gathered led to Gang's case being dismissed. However, the rushed process caused unnecessary hardship for Gang and his family, and some evidence should have been collected earlier in the investigation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZcCvb02o1A Gang expressed his gratitude to Robert, the attendees, the community, and MIT for their unwavering support, which played a pivotal role in his legal victory. He notified MIT about the airport incident, and they promptly provided him with legal representation and covered his legal expenses. Additionally, MIT conducted a thorough one-year investigation through an external law firm, which found no wrongdoing. However, despite assurances from the government of no imminent indictment, the case rushed, and Gang was arrested on January 14, 2021. Gang emphasized that the prosecution was rife with misconduct, spanning from the indictment to search affidavits to the criminal complaint. He detailed seven specific instances of misconduct: The government distorted facts in Gang's case, notably seen in their criminal complaint. For instance, they omitted a crucial last sentence from an email Gang sent himself after a meeting with a Chinese official at MIT. The omission changed the context of the email, suggesting Gang supported China's strategic goals while including the omitted sentence would have made it clear that it was notes he took at the meeting. Gang found it concerning that the prosecutor implied his intent based on the email, highlighting prosecutorial misconduct. Gang also criticized the government's misinterpretation of normal scientific activities as criminal. For instance, the prosecutor expressed anger over Gang serving as an expert reviewer for the Chinese National Science Foundation, despite this being a common practice among academics globally. Many academics were alarmed by this misinterpretation, as it could implicate them similarly. The prosecution used emails Gang didn't reply to as evidence against him, even though he had never reviewed a proposal for the Chinese National Science Foundation. Merely being listed in their database led to unjust accusations. Gang's actions were misconstrued as suspicious despite him acting ethically. For example, when an officer from Taiwan wanted to visit him, Gang, out of caution, met him off-campus. However, this innocent meeting was later cited as evidence of wrongdoing. The rushed nature of Gang's case resulted in an inadequate investigation and failure to interview key witnesses. This rush was attributed to US Attorney Andrew Lelling's imminent departure from office. Exculpatory evidence, such as witness testimonies clearing Gang, was withheld by the prosecution. They had this crucial information from the day of Gang's arrest, but failed to provide them to Gang's lawyers until they demanded it. Despite knowing their errors, the prosecution did not admit mistakes or apologize to Gang. They offered a deferred prosecution agreement, which Gang refused, recognizing it as an attempt to save face. Gang shared several takeaways from his experience: The US loses when we lose the talent of scientists due to discrimination. Universities need to protect their faculty. Funding agencies need to do the right thing. Everyone needs to learn their rights. We need to speak up. As a scientist, Gang never imagined getting involved in politics. However, he believes that politics affects everyone. He quoted Martin Luther King, saying, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Gang ended by expressing the significant toll the investigation and prosecution had on his family, himself, and his research career, which words cannot fully capture. During the meeting, Harvard University Professor Zhigang Suo provided his remarks as a colleague and a friend of Professor Chen. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, but the government does not hold absolute power. Zhigang discussed Gang's arrest, highlighting the government's overwhelming display of power. They spread false information, accusing Gang of various crimes, which quickly spread worldwide. What Zhigang saw were talking heads on the screens – he felt bewilderment, anger, sadness, and fear. Zhigang recalled reactions from friends and the media, expressing his frustration with the government's misinformation. He reviewed the criminal complaint against Gang on Twitter, critiquing its absurd allegations. Public support for Gang grew rapidly after his arrest, with MIT faculty organizing in his favor and civil rights groups advocating for him. Zhigang concluded by emphasizing the importance of public scrutiny in preventing abuses of power and upholding democratic principles. During the meeting, Former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam shared her view on Professor Chen's Case and the "China Initiative." Criminal prosecutions vary based on individual circumstances, and it is the prosecutor's duty to assess each case independently. However, initiatives, while well-intended, can lead to problems. When prosecutions are tied to initiatives for future press releases, it can incentivize rushed or misguided actions. Initiatives often set arbitrary goals and deadlines, disrupting the natural flow of investigations. Carol spoke about the importance of introspection in the criminal justice system. She emphasized that criminal prosecutions are unique because they directly affect an individual's life and liberty. Protections for defendants, like the right to counsel and a fair trial, kick in only after charges are brought. Before that, there are few safeguards in place, relying mainly on the judgment of investigators. She discussed how initiatives can influence judgment negatively, citing examples from her experience at the Department of Justice. For instance, in past initiatives targeting financial fraud, inexperienced staff were recruited, and cases lacking strong evidence were pursued to meet quotas. Similarly, initiatives against false document presentation at the Mexican border led to unnecessary arrests of low-level offenders. Carol stressed that initiatives often result in poorly investigated cases pursued for the wrong reasons. She criticized the DOJ's approach, noting that initiatives should not be used to instill fear or advance political agendas. She expressed concern over statements by DOJ officials justifying aggressive actions and called for a more nuanced approach, especially in cases involving academia. Carol concluded by urging the DOJ to reassess its approach, particularly in distinguishing between corporate espionage and academic research. She emphasized the need for better understanding and sensitivity from law enforcement agencies when dealing with academic communities focused on open research. Stefan Maier of RWTH Aachen University joined the meeting from Germany. The Department of Justice announced the formal end of the China Initiative two weeks later on February 23, 2022. 2022/02/07 APA Justice: Monthly Meeting Summary 2022/02/07 APA Justice: Monthly Meeting Video (1:26:07) 2022/02/07 APA Justice: Monthly Meeting Video with Professor Gang Chen (12:47) Gang Chen Moves Forward On April 13, 2022, Stephen A. Orlins, President of the National Committee on United States–China Relations, conducted an interview in which Professor Chen talked about his case and his reaction to the end of the China Initiative, what it means to him and the broader scientific community. At the conclusion of the interview, Gang reflects on the significant damage his case has caused to his scientific career, including a drastic reduction in their research group from 15 to only three members. Despite this setback, he expresses determination to continue his research and find ways to overcome obstacles. Gang admits to feeling fearful of applying for funding again but vows not to be defeated. He emphasizes the importance of speaking out against injustice, citing examples of colleagues who supported them and invoking quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and Martin Niemöller. He expresses gratitude for the support he has received and plans to help others as he moves forward. In July 2022, Gang and a team of colleagues reported their research finding that cubic boron arsenide is a highly effective semiconductor, a discovery with potentially important applications in electronics. This discovery was named one of Physics World's top 10 breakthrough of the year in 2022. In 2023 and 2024 , he led his research group to report the discovery of "photomolecular effect." Gang pledges to do what he can to support impacted persons. Although the China Initiative officially ended by name, unjust prosecutions are still going on, and many researchers are still being harassed in different ways. In November 2022, Gang announced the donation of the remaining unused funds from GoFundMe to Asian American Scholar Fund and the Committee of 100 legal defense funds to defend similar cases and provide education and awareness on racial profiling against Asian Americans. Gang calls for continuing support of people in need. One of them is former University of Kansas Professor Feng “Franklin” Tao. Chen has participated in numerous webinars and events to advocate for justice and fairness, as well as American leadership in science and technology, including a panel at the University of Michigan on March 26, 2024. He now serves on the Board of Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), which was formed in response to his arrest. Previous Item Next Item

Newsletter - #162 Texas SB147; Your Rights; Terminated Workers; Judge Robinson/Franklin Tao; China Panel #162 Texas SB147; Your Rights; Terminated Workers; Judge Robinson/Franklin Tao; China Panel In This Issue #162 Protests Against Discriminatory Texas Senate Bill 147 Know Your Rights on Airport Enforcement and Border Harassment Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment Judge Robinson Lectures; Professor Tao Appeals Fear of House China panel will Fuel Bigotry Protests Against Discriminatory Texas Senate Bill 147 The Asian American community in Texas is mobilizing and organizing rallies and protests against the discriminatory Texas Senate Bill 147. On January 20, 2023, a rally was held at Fort Bend County Justice Center, in Richmond, Texas. It received wide local media coverage. “Injustice for one is injustice for all,” Fort Bend County Judge KP George said. “It’s unfathomable that our state leaders, who are elected to serve in the best interest of all of their constituents, would target groups of people from different nations and prohibit them from their right to own property. It’s blatant discrimination.” Judge George said the bill should concern everyone because additional countries could be added to the list at any point. He also stated that he believed it could have a negative economic impact on the state. Asian American community members who attended the rally held signs that called the bill discriminatory. They said they fear that they will be unable to purchase homes if the bill passes."Anyone who is in this country from North Korea is here as a lawful refugee fleeing an oppressive government," State Representative Gene Wu 吳元之 said at the rally. "They are now being punished again for the actions of that oppressive government simply because they come from the same place." Judge George held a rally on the steps of the Fort Bend County Justice Center in Richmond, Texas. Dozens of people, mainly from Fort Bend County’s Asian population, were in attendance. State Representative Gene Wu , Representative Ron Reynolds , Representative Sulemam Lalani and U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee were also present. “This blatantly racist and xenophobic piece of legislation is exactly what we expect coming from what is anticipated to be the most conservative session we’ve seen in Texas,” said Harris County Democratic Party Chair, Odus Evbagharu . “The Senator claims she wants Texans to control Texas land while being elected to serve some of the most diverse places in not only the state but the country. Bills like this only seek to further alienate groups of people and promote fear-mongering.” On January 23, 2023, a rally will he held at the Houston City Hall. For more information, contact Professor Steven Pei at PeiUH4@gmail.com On January 29, 2023, an Anti-Asian Bill Rally will be held in Austin, Texas. Read more at https://bit.ly/3QXjiFx (in Chinese language)As part of the expansion of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, California enacted the Alien Land Law, barring Asian immigrants from owning land in 1913. Other states followed with their discriminatory laws restricting Asians’ rights to hold land in America. These laws remained in place until the 1950s, some even longer.APA Justice has created a new webpage to monitor the continuing development of Texas SB147, community responses, media repots, and the 1913 Alien Land Law: http://bit.ly/3QXNPTr Know Your Rights on Airport Enforcement and Border Harassment On January 26, 2023, the Asian American Scholar Forum will host a webinar on "Know Your Rights on Airport Enforcement and Border Harassment" as part of its series on Know Your Rights. ACLU, criminal, and immigration legal experts will be speaking. Register to attend: http://bit.ly/3ZMVUhX Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment According to a report by the Washington Post on January 20, 2023, Google’s parent company Alphabet was cutting 12,000 jobs, estimated at 6 percent of the workforce. It is cutting the most jobs in its history, spanning the company’s product areas and regions. The cuts are the latest in an industry that has shed more than 200,000 workers last year and so far this year. While the company is reportedly refocusing its priorities, which includes investments in artificial intelligence (AI), some of the workers who were cut were working on AI-focused teams.On January 19, 2023, Mark Zuckerberg , chief executive of Meta, warned employees that more positions could be eliminated — after Facebook’s parent company already slashed 11,000 workers, or 13 percent of its workforce, in November.Microsoft recently announced the layoffs of 10,000 employees. Earlier in January, Amazon said it was eliminating 18,000 workers. Salesforce also announced it was cutting around 10 percent of its 80,000 workers.It is unclear how many nonimmigrant workers are impacted by these massive layoffs. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) provides information for nonimmigrant workers whose employment has terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. These workers may have several options for remaining in the United States in a period of authorized stay based on existing rules and regulations for up to one year.The CIS notice is posted here: http://bit.ly/3HnuCYo . Please help to spread the word to your circles, especially for those who may be impacted.Regrettably, APA Justice does not offer legal advice or assistance. Judge Robinson Lectures; Professor Tao Appeals According to Science on January 20, 2023, a sentencing hearing is a forum to mete out justice for someone convicted of a crime. But this week, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Julie Robinson used the sentencing of Franklin Tao 陶丰 , a chemical engineer formerly at the University of Kansas (KU), Lawrence, to also talk at length about what motivates academic researchers—and how the U.S. government appeared to misunderstand that culture in pursuing criminal charges against Tao.Her remarks are a rare example of a federal judge speaking in public about the U.S. academic enterprise and its pursuit of knowledge. Tao was convicted last year of failing to accurately report his interactions with a Chinese university to KU, which said this week he is no longer a faculty member. But Robinson, who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush in 2001, says the government wrongly portrayed Tao’s exploration of an academic job in China as a malicious attempt to share the fruits of federally funded research with the Chinese government.Although Robinson was only speaking about Tao, her comments also raise questions about how the government has prosecuted some two dozen U.S. scientists, most of them born in China, under an effort by the administration of former President Donald Trump to stop Chinese economic espionage. Human rights groups have said the campaign, called the "China Initiative" before it was renamed last year to target all nation-state threats to U.S. economic and national security, engaged in racial profiling and had a chilling effect on international scientific collaborations. In sentencing Tao, Robinson rejected the government’s request that he spend 30 months in prison and pay a fine of $100,000. Instead, she decreed no fine and no additional jail time beyond the 1 week he spent behind bars after his arrest in August 2019. She did order 2 years of supervision for the 52-year-old Tao, who has worn a monitoring device on his ankle since his arrest.Read the Science report: https://bit.ly/3J1euNi . Read the transcript of the sentencing hearing: https://bit.ly/3D2C2NT . Read Professor Tao's case at https://bit.ly/3fZWJvK On January 20, 2023, Hong Peng, wife of Franklin Tao, made an appeal in the GoFundMe at https://bit.ly/2Uj7Z19 that they will fight the lone count of conviction until Tao's name is cleared completely. Fear of House China Panel will Fuel Bigotry According to Roll Call on January 20, 2023, the newly established bipartisan House select committee tasked with studying strategic challenges coming from the Chinese government has aroused concerns in the Asian American community that lawmakers may wind up fueling anti-Chinese bigotry and broader anti-Asian discrimination in the United States.The committee’s membership list has not yet been announced, nor have initial topics for public hearings been described. Still, the sheer formation of the panel has sparked fresh concerns among some Democrats who voted against its establishment, as well as some within the Asian American community, about how the panel could potentially be used to spread anti-Chinese and anti-Asian paranoia and discrimination.“I have concerns with the potential direction that Republicans could take this select committee, including using this platform to promote policies and language that endanger Chinese Americans and people of Asian descent living in the U.S.,” Rep. Grace Meng 孟昭文 , D-N.Y., who is the vice chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said in a statement.In the last Congress, Meng saw her COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act become law. The measure is aimed at combating xenophobia and violence against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.“Unfortunately, as we have seen in targeted attacks, some aren’t distinguishing between the CCP and Asian-Americans who are simply going about their daily lives,” said Meng, who is Taiwanese American. “Careless rhetoric can give way to dangerous assumptions which people can, and sadly, have acted upon as we witnessed in Indiana.” Meng was referring to the incident earlier this month in which an 18-year-old Indiana University student, who is Asian, was stabbed repeatedly in her head as she rode a public bus. The student’s accused attacker reportedly told authorities she did it because it “would be one less person to blow up our country.”“We have two years of solid evidence during the pandemic when people got really mad at random Asian Americans and even Latinos who had the misfortune of looking Asian and beat them to a pulp or shoved them into subways shouting, ‘Go back to where you came from. This virus is your fault,’” said Frank Wu 吴华扬 , a prominent member of Chinese American civic organizations.Wu, who in 2020 became the first Asian American to be appointed president of Queens College in New York, doesn’t think the new select committee is needed or likely to be helpful. He pointed to recent failed efforts during the Trump administration to weed out and crack down on instances of illicit Chinese government-linked economic espionage.“You could not have a better example of a total waste of taxpayer money,” Wu said. John Yang 杨重远 , the executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a civil rights organization, said given the committee’s full name and remarks made by McCarthy and others, he is cautiously optimistic that House leaders will be careful not to platform anti-Chinese xenophobia and anti-Asian bias.Read the Roll Call report: http://bit.ly/3J520UN Update on the Indiana University Student Stabbing Incident. On January 19, 2023, NBC News reported that Asian Americans at Indiana University Bloomington are reeling after an 18-year-old student was stabbed on a city transit bus last Wednesday, allegedly because of her identity. But they don’t feel that they’ve received sufficient support. Since the incident, a sense of shock has rippled through the school’s Asian community. The suspect, Billie Davis , told the Bloomington Police Department that she targeted the student, who survived the incident, for “being Chinese,” adding “it would be one less person to blow up our country,” court documents show. With fears around their safety amplified, Asian American students who spoke to NBC News said they’ve been disappointed in the response from both those outside the Asian community and the school administration, who made their first statements around the attack two days afterward. The students say that conversations around the incident have been active among the Asian Americans on campus. But they admit that when stepping outside of their safe spaces, they often feel a sense of loneliness.“There’s not really any advocacy group in the community that makes Asian issues very visible. I think the administration should make that more of a priority, just expanding their own diversity and inclusion efforts to the community, because the students can’t do that alone,” a student said. In the 1920s, an estimated 1 in 3 white protestant males in the state were dues-paying members of the Ku Klux Klan, according to the Washington Post. Over a century later, the Southern Poverty Law Center tracked 15 active hate groups throughout Indiana. Race-related violence against Asian students also lives in the city’s not-so distant past as former IU student Benjamin Smith , a vocal white supremacist who had disseminated white power pamphlets on campus and across the city, murdered 26-year-old doctoral student Won-Joon Yoon in 1999 outside the Korean United Methodist Church. Smith, who had previously been sought in a series of shootings earlier that year that targeted Black, Jewish and Asian people, fatally shot himself the same night. Read the NBS News report: https://nbcnews.to/3Wr0QWD Subscribe to The APA Justice Newsletter Complete this simple form at https://bit.ly/2FJunJM to subscribe. Please share it with those who wish to be informed and join the fight. View past newsletters here: https://bit.ly/APAJ_Newsletters . Back View PDF January 23, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

1. A Call to Stop Senate Bill 147 and All Alien Land Laws 2023 Texas Alien Land Bill SB147 Friday, February 17, 2023 20230217 Webinar1.JPG Previous Item Next Item

Newsletter - #369 1/5 Meeting; 2025 Changed Research; CAPAC 2025 Review; ACLU Update; Summaries Posted;+ #369 1/5 Meeting; 2025 Changed Research; CAPAC 2025 Review; ACLU Update; Summaries Posted;+ In This Issue #369 · 2026/01/05 Monthly Meeting · The Year That Changed Research · CAPAC: 2025 End-of-Year Report · Update from American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) · December and August Meeting Summaries Posted · News and Activities for the Communities 2026/01/05 Monthly Meeting The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held on Monday, January 5, 2026, starting at 1:55 pm ET. Rep. Grace Meng 孟昭文 , Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, is invited to deliver a new year message and a review of 2025. In addition to updates from: · Judith Teruya , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) · Joanna YangQing Derman , Program Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC · Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) We are honored by and welcome the following distinguished speakers: · Attorneys from Bloch & White LLP on Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 (invited) · Attorneys from Despres, Schwartz, & Geoghegan, Ltd. on Jane Ying Wu 吴瑛 (invited) · Paul Cheng 鄭文耀 , President, Committee of 100 · Hua Wang 王华 , Chair; Haipei Shue 薛海培 , President, United Chinese Americans · Sharon Wong , National Chair; Thu Nguyen , Executive Director, OCA National Center 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 - Vincent Wang 王文奎 , and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org . The Year That Changed Research According to Inside Higher Ed on December 19, 2025, a year of mass federal grant terminations and sweeping policy changes to the nation’s research enterprise broke many scientists’ trust in the government. And those changes offer insight into what may come next year. For federally funded researchers, 2025 was widely described as chaotic, destabilizing, and demoralizing. Early in President Trump’s second term, federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Education, and Department of Energy (DOE) froze or terminated hundreds of research grants, disrupting projects across biomedical science, climate research, education, democracy studies, and public health. Many terminations explicitly targeted work involving diversity, equity, gender, or marginalized communities, framing such research as incompatible with agency priorities. Lawsuits warned that these actions would delay scientific advancement, compromise health outcomes, and drive talent away from U.S. research. By some estimates, more than $17 billion in NIH funding alone was disrupted, and thousands of federal agency staff layoffs left researchers with little guidance amid shifting rules. Beyond grant terminations, the administration proposed sweeping policy changes that further eroded trust: attempts to cap indirect cost reimbursements, freezes on funding to elite universities over unrelated political disputes, and executive orders giving political appointees greater control over grant awards and cancellations. Although courts blocked some measures and forced partial restoration of grants, the damage was already done. Universities froze hiring and admissions in anticipation of cuts, trainees lost support, and many researchers began questioning whether long-term academic careers in the U.S. were viable. Even when grants were reinstated, they often returned with reduced funding, delays, or new ideological restrictions, reinforcing the sense that science was no longer insulated from politics. Litigation and advocacy produced some important pushback. Courts halted indirect cost caps, agencies restored thousands of grants, and Congress signaled resistance to the most drastic proposed cuts—suggesting modest increases for NIH rather than the steep reductions sought by the administration. Yet uncertainty remains high heading into 2026. Agencies are scaling back peer review due to staffing shortages, experimenting with automated screening tools, and using text analysis to flag proposals for terms like “health equity” or “structural racism.” Researchers across fields report lasting psychological and professional impacts, including self-censorship, reluctance to pursue ambitious projects, and concerns about the future of evidence-based policymaking. Despite these challenges, the research community also demonstrated resilience and collective action. Scientists, universities, professional associations, and advocates mobilized through lawsuits, public letters, and sustained engagement with Congress. Many emphasized that openness, fairness, and global collaboration—not isolation—are the foundations of U.S. scientific leadership. While 2026 is expected to remain difficult, the partial successes of 2025 show that coordinated advocacy can still defend the integrity of American research. In this context, the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) underscored an important victory: the proposed SAFE Research Act was removed from the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act. AASF’s advocacy helped prevent a measure that would have chilled collaboration, unfairly targeted researchers, and weakened America’s global competitiveness in science—demonstrating that principled, collective action can still make a decisive difference. C APAC: 2025 End-of-Year Report On December 18, 2025, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) released its 2025 End-of-Year Report that includes a summary of actions CAPAC has taken to support thriving families and communities, advance equity and defend our rights, and promote economic opportunities for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs). “This has been a challenging year for so many across our country. But our community has proven that we are most powerful when we stand together—to defend our rights, hold the administration accountable, and ensure our voices are heard at every level of government,” said Rep. Grace Meng 孟昭文 , Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “This report showcases some of CAPAC’s work to protect our community from harmful policies and to create a world where the next generation of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders is more successful than the last. There’s more work ahead of us, but CAPAC will not stop until we deliver on the promise of the American Dream for the millions who call this great nation home.” In 2025, CAPAC grew its total membership to 83 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate —the largest in history. CAPAC also released its policy framework for the 119th Congress to ensure the caucus is laser-focused on meeting our communities’ most pressing needs and launched the Spill the Tea with Chair Meng video series to discuss important topics impacting AANHPIs. The Caucus also took legislative action to uphold birthright citizenship, defend language access, stand up for immigrants, protect access to affordable health care, oppose the Republicans’ “China Initiative,” and more. Read the CAPAC press release: https://bit.ly/4qdx32Z Bill to Reunite and Protect Immigrant Families Reintroduced Rep. Judy Chu 趙美心 and Senator Mazie Hirono reintroduced the Reuniting Families Act of 2025 to address severe backlogs and outdated rules in the U.S. family-based immigration system, which currently leaves nearly four million people with approved visa applications waiting—often for more than a decade—to reunite with loved ones. The bill seeks to modernize a system that has not seen meaningful reform in over 30 years by recapturing unused visas, rolling them into future years, expanding the definition of family to include permanent partners, increasing the total number of family preference visas, raising per-country limits, and establishing a firm cap so no approved applicant waits more than 10 years for a visa. Lawmakers and a broad coalition of civil rights, immigrant advocacy, faith-based, and community organizations argue the legislation would make immigration more humane, efficient, and fair while strengthening families and communities across the country. Supporters emphasize that family unity is a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy and that prolonged separations harm not only immigrant families—including Asian American, Southeast Asian, African, and LGBTQ+ communities—but also the nation’s social and economic fabric. The bill has garnered endorsements from dozens of national and local organizations, reflecting broad support for restoring compassion and functionality to the family-based immigration system. Read the press release from Rep. Judy Chu’s office. Update from American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) During the APA Justice monthly meeting on December 1, 2025, Patrick Toomey , Deputy Director, National Security Project, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) returned to provide an in-depth briefing on two major areas of ongoing ACLU litigation: the challenge to Florida’s discriminatory housing law (SB 264) in Shen v. Simpson, and the national-security–related litigation surrounding the federal government’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. Both issues, he noted, remain of high importance to Asian American communities and immigrant-rights advocates across the country. Patrick began by reminding the audience that the ACLU is engaged in a wide range of immigration and civil rights litigation, including work related to birthright citizenship, which had been referenced earlier in the meeting. For purposes of this briefing, however, he focused on the two cases in which he is personally involved. I. Shen v. Simpson – Florida’s SB 264 Housing Restrictions Patrick first summarized developments in Shen v. Simpson, a challenge to Florida’s SB 264, a law that restricts property ownership by immigrants from China and six other “countries of concern.” The law prohibits non-citizens and non-green-card-holders from these countries from buying property in large parts of Florida, with only narrow exceptions. The ACLU—together with AALDEF, CALDA, the DeHeng Law Firm, Quinn Emanuel, and the ACLU of Florida—represents four individual Chinese immigrant plaintiffs and a real estate company that serves primarily Chinese clients. On November 4, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of SB 264, which Patrick described as “disappointing.” However, he highlighted an important clarification in the ruling: the court narrowed the law’s application and found that it does not apply to certain Chinese immigrants who live in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely. That clarification, he explained, provides meaningful—but limited—relief to affected communities. He emphasized the broader context. SB 264 echoes a long history of “alien land laws” targeting Asians and other immigrant groups under the guise of national security. The ACLU views the law as part of a nationwide resurgence of discriminatory state-level property restrictions, which mirror policies from the early 20th century. Looking ahead, Patrick explained that next steps remain uncertain. The Eleventh Circuit must first issue a formal order returning the case to the district court. Once that occurs, the ACLU will submit a status update outlining possible avenues for continuing litigation. He assured the audience that updates will be provided as the case progresses. II. Alien Enemies Act Litigation Patrick then turned to the ACLU’s ongoing challenges to the federal government’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a Civil War–era statute allowing deportation of nationals from countries with which the U.S. is at war. In March of this year, he explained, the government used the Act to deport roughly 250 Venezuelan nationals. These individuals were transported first to El Salvador and detained in the notorious “Terrorism Confinement Center,” before later being transferred to Venezuela. Many had no opportunity to contest their designation or removal. 1. The Fifth Circuit Case (for individuals still in the U.S.) The ACLU represents Venezuelan nationals who remain in the United States and continue to face potential deportation under the Act. In June, the ACLU argued the case before a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit, which issued a 2–1 decision ruling the government’s use of the Act unlawful. The government then requested an en banc hearing before the full Fifth Circuit, which was granted. Briefing is underway, and oral argument is scheduled for late January. Because the case raises significant questions about executive power and wartime authorities, Patrick noted that Supreme Court review is likely. Importantly, deportations are currently paused while the litigation proceeds. 2. District Court Litigation in Washington, D.C. (for individuals already deported) A second challenge focuses on those who were removed in March with no due process. The ACLU is seeking a new preliminary injunction that would allow deported individuals the opportunity to bring habeas and due-process claims that they were unable to pursue before being transported out of the country. Toomey noted that many were deported “under cover of darkness,” without notice, hearings, or the ability to consult counsel. These cases, he stressed, raise profound constitutional questions about due process, wartime authority, and the treatment of immigrant communities. Both remain active and will likely continue into 2026. Conclusion Patrick closed by encouraging attendees to stay engaged as litigation moves forward. He invited follow-up questions through the chat or by email and reaffirmed the ACLU’s commitment to defending the civil rights and liberties of immigrant communities targeted by discriminatory laws and emergency powers. The outcomes of these cases, he noted, will have significant implications for Asian American comunities, Venezuelan migrants, and the broader legal landscape governing immigration enforcement. December and August Meeting Summaries Posted Summary for the December 2025 APA Justice monthly meeting has been posted at . We thank these distinguished speakers for sharing their insightful remarks and updates: · Judith Teruya , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus · Joanna YangQing Derman , Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security Program, Advancing Justice | AAJC · Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) · Kin Yan Hui , National President, Chinese American Citizens Alliance · Patrick Toomey , Deputy Director, National Security Project, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) · Edgar Chen , Special Advisor, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Summary for the August 2025 APA Justice monthly meeting has been posted at https://bit.ly/45gnvw6 . We thank these distinguished speakers for sharing their insightful remarks and updates: · Judith Teruya , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus · Joanna YangQing Derman , Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security Program, Advancing Justice | AAJC · Munira Abdullahi , Member, Ohio House of Representatives · Guangya Liu , Member, North Carolina House of Representatives · Min Fan , Executive Director, U.S. Heartland China Association We apologize for the lateness in posting this summary. Past monthly meeting summaries are posted at: https://www.apajusticetaskforce.org/librarynewsletters-summaries News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2026/01/05 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2026/01/13 Conversations, Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes: Leroy Chiao 2026/01/29-30 The Jimmy Carter Forum on U.S.-China Relations2026/02/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Visit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. # # # APA Justice Task Force is a non-partisan platform to build a sustainable ecosystem that addresses racial profiling concerns and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian Pacific American community. For more information, please refer to the new APA Justice website under development at www.apajusticetaskforce.org . We value your feedback. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org . Back View PDF December 22, 2025 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #348 Special Edition: Shutdown of Corporation of Public Broadcasting #348 Special Edition: Shutdown of Corporation of Public Broadcasting In This Issue #348 Special Edition: Shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Author: Madeleine Gable, APA Justice Communications Associate On July 24, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the GOP-backed Rescissions Act of 2025, cutting about $1.1 billion in previously approved funding allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) over the next two years. A week later, CPB President Patricia Harrison announced the organization would shut down, with most of its 100 employees leaving by the end of September. Despite widespread public opposition, including letters and petitions, the shutdown advances, threatening the future of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the National Public Radio (NPR), and hundreds of local stations nationwide, significantly impacting Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. What is the CPB? Established in 1967 under the Public Broadcasting Act, the CPB is a private nonprofit corporation supporting noncommercial, educational, and accessible broadcasting. Beyond funding PBS and NPR, the CPB provides support to over 1,500 local radio and TV stations. Many of the rural networks are the only broadcasting stations in the area.Former President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act as part of Great Society legislation , initiatives intended to reduce poverty and promote social equity. Early broadcasters, often based at universities and land-grant schools, provided continuing education programs, which eventually expanded to include children’s programming, documentary films, and feature stories.The CPB allocates more than $400 million to over 500 public-media organizations nationwide. In particular, its funding has a much greater impact on stations that serve local communities than it does on PBS and NPR. In fact, the CPB funds 15% of the budget for PBS and only 1% of the budget for NPR. The vast majority of the CPB’s funds are allocated directly to local TV and radio stations, and 31% of the CPB’s grants were allocated directly to rural networks in 2023. According to CPB analysis, more than half of the rural stations it supported relied on federal funding for at least 25% of their budget. Consequences of the Shutdown At its inception, the CPB was designed to ensure nonpartisanship by creating a degree of separation between its operations and the lawmakers responsible for approving the annual federal budget. Recently, the CPB, and especially NPR and PBS, have garnered criticism for alleged liberal bias. Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene vehemently called for the defunding of the CPB because NPR and PBS had become “echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy white urban liberals and progressives who generally look down on and judge rural America.” On Truth Social in April, President Donald Trump referred to NPR and PBS as “radical left monsters that so badly hurt our country.” 1. Loss of Local/Rural Representation and Voice Both Rep. Greene and President Trump’s statements underscore the irony of shuttering the CPB. The shutdown would hit rural, low-income areas hardest, places where local stations are often the sole source of essential information, leaving these communities at a significant disadvantage. With the loss of funding, smaller, public radio stations will be forced to rely more heavily on national programming, thereby reducing the diversity of perspectives on the air. As Emily Cohen , station manager of KHOL in Jackson, Wyoming, observed , “If you take away the funding that’s supporting local coverage, it could potentially make polarization worse.”Such smaller, rural broadcasting stations include Allegheny Mountain Radio (AMR), a network of three radio stations in West Virginia and Virginia that serve as the area’s only broadcasters. Located within the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000 square-mile region where airwaves are restricted due to a nearby radio telescope, AMR operates at a frequency low enough to avoid interference. More than 60% of its annual budget is funded by the CPB; any reduction in this funding would seriously harm residents who may otherwise lose access to local broadcasting. Josh Shepperd , associate professor at the University of Colorado, suggests “20% of the country is effectively going to lose any concept of itself as a place within the next 10 years without public media.” He added local communities are “all going to have national ideology on the local level, and no local memory and no local experience.” 2. Reduced Access to Critical Information and Services Importantly, the shutdown of the CPB will severely dampen the efficacy of local alert systems, endangering the lives of those who rely on local broadcasting systems for emergency messages. In rural communities that lack reliable internet, radio is often a more effective means of disseminating emergency alerts. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has the ability to send emergency messages directly to people’s cellphones, radio stations can cover a larger geographical area and are more reliable than cell towers.In the Permian Basin in southwest Texas, radio is often the only outlet available to provide residents with emergency information in times of natural disaster. Marfa Public Radio and KPBT-TV (also known as Basin PBS) are two of the stations that primarily serve this area. 30% of Marfa Public Radio’s budget is funded by the CPB, while 48% of KPBT-TV’s comes from the CPB. Directors of both of these stations have expressed their concerns about continuing to operate as their budgets must now be fully funded by donors.Mendocino-based NPR member station KZYX in California serves roughly 130,000 listeners. Andre de Channes , KZYX’s general manager and director of operations, worried about fire safety as the station provides service to many off-the-grid rural areas without access to internet or cell service. Residents of those areas rely primarily on KZYX for emergency information. KZYX has lost 25% of its operating budget. 3. Impact on Cultural Programming In addition to limited diversity of programming and reduced access to critical information and services, the shutdown of the CPB will also profoundly impact cultural programming, particularly because local stations broadcast the majority of such content. Jack Jones is the acting station manager of KGVA, a tribal radio station on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in northern Montana, which receives 85% of its funding from the CPB. Much of the rest of its funding is allocated by the reservation’s college, which also faces a severe funding crisis. According to Jones, KGVA daily broadcasts feature educational programming, words of the day in Aaniiih and Nakota languages, interviews with tribal elders, Native American drum groups, and local high school basketball games. Republican Senator from South Dakota Mike Rounds noted that tribal radio stations are crucial for "delivering critical emergency alerts and public safety information.” Jones remains concerned that the shutdown of the CPB will deprive listeners of both vital cultural programming and essential public safety information. Loris Taylor , President and CEO of Native Public Media, warned that the “cost of silence” from shuttering tribal radio stations also includes the loss of emergency alerting capabilities and the collapse of civic engagement coverage. Perhaps most importantly, Taylor says defunding tribal stations "turns off a pathway to participation, representation, and leadership for Native youth.” The CPB shutdown also threatens the more than 1,000 public radio stations that play independent music, as the CPB funding often covers all music licensing fees for public radio stations. Without that funding, public radio stations would have to renegotiate those deals individually. NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher recently estimated that 96% of all classical music broadcast in the U.S. is on public radio stations. Impact on AANHPI Communities 1. Cultural Programming at Risk Beyond local stations, CPB funding also supports national and digital platforms that amplify AANHPI voices.To celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month in 2024, the CPB published a comprehensive guide to its programming exploring and celebrating the history and culture of AANHPI individuals and communities. Examples include PBS’s “ The Composer is Yoo ” and Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story , Dear Corky , WORLD’s “ Chinatown Auxiliary ” and In Search of Bengali Harlem , NPR’s Tiny Desk Japan and Tiny Desk Korea , and PBS’s five part documentary series Asian Americans .Other PBS stations offering extensive, culturally rich programming about Asian Americans include PBS Hawai’i , KQED , and PBS SoCal . The latter aired “ Snapshots of Confinement ,” a locally-produced documentary chronicling the experiences of Japanese Americans at internment camps during World War II.Other radio and online platforms uplifting AANHPI voices include NPR Live Sessions , Seattle’s KEXP , LAist Studios and NPR’s Inheriting , StoryCorps , and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting . 2. Arts and Story Telling The Serica Initiative , a nonprofit in New York City, raises awareness of the Asian diaspora in America through storytelling, dialogue, and the power of convening. According to CEO and founder Anla Cheng , a key partner of Serica's is The WNET Group in New York and a past recipient of CPB funds. Together, Serica and ALL ARTS — the arts and culture hub created by The WNET Group — have co-produced a series of short videos highlighting the impact of AAPIs; most recently, their series " Climate Artists " (which featured artists centering climate change and sustainability in their work, including architect and designer Maya Lin ) was nominated for three NY Emmy Awards; a fourth Emmy nomination was for their video " Voices Rising: What's Next for Asian Americans in the Arts? ", which was also co-produced with ALL ARTS and featured such speakers as playwright David Henry Hwang (Golden Child, Yellow Face) as well as actors Rosalind Chao (Three Body Problem) and BD Wong (Jurassic Park, Law & Order: SUV). Cheng highlighted that reductions in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) funding, academic research grants, and resources supporting AAPI communities will have far-reaching effects throughout the entire community. She also emphasized that the willingness to support one another remains stronger than ever, with emotional and creative contributions often being just as valuable as financial support, making the phrase “Collectively, We are Stronger” a reality. 3. Asian American Films and Festivals Two of the country’s largest Asian American Film Festivals, CAAMFest and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, also risk losing a significant portion of their funding. CAAM , the Center for Asian American Media, originated through the efforts of Loni Ding and others to secure funding from the CPB to create the National Asian American Telecommunications Association in 1980, later renamed CAAM. CAAMFest, an offshoot of CAAM, debuted in 1982 as the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival before adopting its current name in 2013. Since then, it has been held annually, except in 1985. According to Grace Yu of the 1990 Institute , CAAM remains the primary organization recognized by the CPB representing Asian Americans. CAAM’s Executive Director Don Young warned that the group faces a major financial crisis following President Trump’s funding cuts, which threaten 40% of its total budget. While the most severe restrictions were not applied directly to the film festival, they will significantly disrupt CAAM’s core work of funding, producing, distributing, and showcasing film, television, and other digital media. The festival itself is not the main target of the cuts, but it remains vulnerable to their ripple effects.Young underscored the importance of documentary filmmaking as a “fundamental influence to help the Asian American community discover our voice and to provide greater shared understanding of Asian America to the broader public.” Despite the financial strain, Young reaffirmed that “CAAM’s commitment to storytelling for the public good, and not corporate profits, will continue,” with an emphasis on public media, sustainability, and innovation. Similarly, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival forecasts it will lose 10-20% of its funding, much of which stems from the National Endowment of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the CPB. Francis Cuillado , executive director at Visual Communications, noted that their archive will bear the greatest impact. The archive works to “preserve and digitize film, photographs and other media” in order to create a freely accessible library. Presented by Visual Communications, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival first debuted in 1983 and has presented over 5,000 films, videos, and digital mediaworks by Asian and Pacific Islander artists. The festival also features seminars, panels, and in-person guest appearances.With the imminent shutdown, all of the above programming faces significant disruption or cancellation. Even organizations not directly affected will feel the loss of a broader network, frequent collaborators, and reliable source material, further hindering the production and dissemination of Asian American programming. Economic and Employment Impact The CPB shutdown will also significantly impact employment and local economies. The CPB estimates nearly 6,000 people are employed by rural stations that it supports. All of those employees face the risk of severe pay cuts due to the shutdown, in addition to the threat of losing their jobs.As Montana’s KGVA stands to lose $100,000 in funding, station manager Jack Jones plans to phase out all programming that requires someone in the studio, cutting the station’s budget down to just $30,000 for licensing fees and station upkeep. Jones says he plans to “start letting people go” as salaries are their largest expense. KGVA only employs one part-time worker, a summer disc jockey. When The New Yorker journalist Oliver Whang noted that Jones himself was the only other employee who could be let go, Jones paused, then quipped “yeah.” "The Race to Rescue PBS and NPR Stations" According to the New York Times on August 19, 2025, philanthropists from the Knight Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Schmidt Family Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced they have committed $26.5 million to support the most at-risk public radio and TV stations. In their definition, these stations include those who have historically received more than 30% of their support from the CPB. They hope to reach $50 million for the Public Media Bridge Fund by the end of this year through additional fundraising. According to Maribel Pérez Wadsworth , president and CEO of the Knight Foundation, philanthropy could not provide a substitute for the federal funding in the long term. A broad overhaul of the public radio system is needed, and many stations will need to merge or pool their resources to save costs. Additional Resources 2025/08/07 The New Yorker: What Happens to Public Media Now? https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-happens-to-public-media-now 2025/08/06 Christian Science Monitor: As Corporation for Public Broadcasting shuts down, what will that mean on airwaves? https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2025/0806/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-npr-pbs 2025/08/05 Forbes: Will NPR And PBS Go Away? How CPB Shutting Down Affects Them https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymeek/2025/08/05/will-npr-and-pbs-go-away-how-cpb-shutting-down-affects-them/ About the author: Madeleine Gable is a junior at New York University, studying International Relations, Economics, and Chinese. She will spend the upcoming fall semester at NYU Shanghai and has been working with APA Justice since October 2024. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2025/09/06 The 2025 Asian American Youth Symposium2025/09/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2025/09/08 Committee of 100 Conversations – “Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes” with Janet Yang2025/09/09 China Connections — Chinese Encounters with America: Profiles of Changemakers Who Shaped China2025/09/16-17 2025 AANHPI Unity Summit2025/09/23 Committee of 100: Is Deglobalization Inevitable?Visit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 2. C100: Is Deglobalization Inevitable? On September 23, 2025, the Committee of 100 and the Foreign Policy Association will co-host a keynote fireside chat and debate on the topic of "Is Deglobalization Inevitable?" Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz at Columbia University will open with a fireside chat on the evening’s central issue, followed by a lively debate between two leading experts: Walden Bello , Professor, State University of New York at Binghamton and Kyoto University (and credited with coining the term “deglobalization”), and Professor Edward Ashbee, Professor, Copenhagen Business School. They will present opposing views in a traditional debate format—opening statements, rebuttals, and closing remarks. Peter Young, Committee of 100 Member and Board Member, CEO of Young & Partners, will serve as moderator. The in-person event at the Yale Club of New York City is by invitation only. The virtual invitation is open to the public; register to attend at https://bit.ly/3Jnwi7z Contact events@committee100.org for more information. # # # APA Justice Task Force is a non-partisan platform to build a sustainable ecosystem that addresses racial profiling concerns and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian Pacific American community. For more information, please refer to the new APA Justice website under development at www.apajusticetaskforce.org . We value your feedback. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org . Back View PDF August 21, 2025 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Xiaoxing Xi 郗小星 Docket ID: 2:17-cv-02132 District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania Date filed: May 10, 2017 Date ended: Professor Xi Files Appeal to Reinstate Damage Claims Against FBI 2023/06/08 TechDirt: Appeals Court Awards Half A Win To Professor Wrongfully Arrested For Sharing ‘Secret’ Tech With Chinese Entities 2023/05/26 星島日報: 任職天普被誣指中國間諜 華裔教授郗小星獲准告FBI 2023/05/25 NBC News: After being wrongfully accused of spying for China, professor wins appeal to sue the government 2023/05/24 ACLU: ACLU Applauds Court For Allowing Case Challenging FBI’s Wrongful Prosecution of Chinese American Physics Professor To Move Forward Bloomberg Law: Temple Professor’s Claims Revived Over Wrongful Spying Arrest 2022/09/21 Inside Higher Ed: After the China Initiative: Seeking Accountability 2022/09/20 NBC News: A professor falsely accused of spying for China describes the toll it's taken on his family 2022/09/16 Temple News: Temple physics professor defends lawsuit against FBI agent 2022/09/15 Courthouse News Service: Appeals court weighs case over China-born physicist’s wrongful espionage charges 2022/09/14 Oral arguments: https://bit.ly/3dbBD29 (audio 57:09) WHYY: Temple professor continues long legal journey to sue FBI for wrongful prosecution Philadelphia Inquirer: Temple professor falsely accused of spying for China urges court to revive his suit against the FBI Advancing Justice | AAJC: Professor Xiaoxing Xi, Civil Rights Advocates Argue for Freedom from Government Discrimination and Surveillance in Third Circuit Court Asian American Scholar Forum: Asian American Scholar Forum Calls for Justice for Dr. Xiaoxing Xi Ahead of Third Circuit Oral Arguments AsAmNews: Professor accused of spying for China asks court to revisit suit against FBI 2022/02/20 The Daily Campus: SMU AAPASA Denounces FBI’s Racial Targeting of Asian Academics 2022/02/17 AAUP: The AAUP Joins Movement Seeking Justice For Professor Xiaoxing Xi 2022/02/15 Defending Rights & Dissent: DRAD joins amicus brief in Xi v. Haugen; calls on US government to stop discriminating against Asian Americans & immigrants 2022/02/14 American Physical Society: Brief of Amici Curiae American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Statistical Association, American Geophysical Union, and Gerontological Society of America in Support of Appellants Advancing Justice | AAJC: Advancing Justice - AAJC and Advancing Justice - ALC Amicus Brief in Support of Professor Xiaoxing Xi 2022/02/11 Institute for Justice: Institute for Justice Amicus Brief in support of Professor Xiaoxing Xi 2022/02/10 The Davis Vanguard: Naturalized U.S. Citizen Files Appeal Following Dismissal of Claims Against U.S. Gov’t 2022/02/09 The Daily Pennsylvanian: Temple University Professor Xiaoxing Xi seeks reinstatement of lawsuit against FBI Temple News: Temple professor asks court to reinstate lawsuit against U.S. government 2022/02/07 AP: Temple prof seeks reinstatement of damage claims against FBI 2021/09/24 ACLU: Xi v. Haugen - Plaintiffs' Notice of Appeal 2021/04/02 ACLU: A Chinese American Scientist and His Family Are Battling the FBI’s Profiling in Court ACLU: Federal Court Dismisses Claims in Chinese American Professor’s Lawsuit Challenging FBI’s Baseless Arrest and Prosecution 2018/04/09 ACLU: Xi V. Haugen – Challenge to Warrentless Surveillance Previous Item Next Item

Newsletter - #81 DOC Internal Review Report; 09/13 Meeting; APS Webinar; Yellow Whistles And More #81 DOC Internal Review Report; 09/13 Meeting; APS Webinar; Yellow Whistles And More Back View PDF September 7, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #80 FBI Reports Behind Visa Fraud Case Dismissals; Concern Re Knox News Journalist #80 FBI Reports Behind Visa Fraud Case Dismissals; Concern Re Knox News Journalist Back View PDF August 30, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #69 06/30 Congressional Roundtable; "Ridiculous Case"; Petition To NYU; "China Initiative" #69 06/30 Congressional Roundtable; "Ridiculous Case"; Petition To NYU; "China Initiative" Back View PDF June 25, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #75 5 "China Initiative" Cases Dropped; Combating Racial Profiling; Yellow Whistles #75 5 "China Initiative" Cases Dropped; Combating Racial Profiling; Yellow Whistles Back View PDF July 26, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #281 Rejecting China Consensus; Balanced Policies; Alarm on Anti-Asian Laws; Newsletters; + #281 Rejecting China Consensus; Balanced Policies; Alarm on Anti-Asian Laws; Newsletters; + In This Issue #281 · The Case Against the China Consensus · A Program for Progressive China Policy · China in the Heartland: Building a Balanced Approach · Anti-Asian Laws in America - Past, Present, and What's Coming · APA Justice Newsletters Web Page Moving to New Website · News and Activities for the Communities The Case Against the China Consensus Jessica Chen Weiss is David M. Lampton Professor of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute Center for China Analysis, and a former member of the U.S. State Department’s Policy Planning Staff.In Jessica Chen Weiss's latest article on Foreign Affairs on September 16, 2024, "The Case Against the China Consensus," she critiques the prevailing U.S. approach to China, emphasizing open-ended competition without a clear definition of success.Weiss argues that bipartisan rhetoric increasingly treats China as an existential threat, pushing aside nuanced debate and overshadowing diplomatic and cooperative opportunities. She warns that such a zero-sum mindset risks escalating tensions, including a potential conflict over Taiwan, and could undermine U.S. values and interests. "If policymakers overplay competition with Beijing, they risk more than raising the likelihood of war and jeopardizing efforts to address the many transnational challenges that threaten both the United States and China. They also risk setting the United States on a path to what could become a pyrrhic victory, in which the country undermines its own long-term interests and values in the name of thwarting its rival," wrote Weiss.Instead, Weiss advocates for a balanced strategy that combines credible deterrence with diplomacy, economic integration, and cooperation on shared global challenges. She stresses the importance of pragmatic engagement and avoiding policies that isolate the U.S. from Chinese innovation and global supply chains. As for the issue of Taiwan, Weiss wrote, "deterrence, particularly in the Taiwan Strait, can be achieved only with the backing of strong diplomacy that combines credible threats and credible assurances. And both deterrence and prosperity require some degree of economic integration and technological interdependence." The article highlights the need for a strategic recalibration in U.S.-China relations, focusing on coexistence rather than dominance, and emphasizes the risks of overplaying competition, which could harm both nations' long-term prosperity and security. "U.S. policymakers should seek a more durable basis for coexistence, striking a careful balance to ensure that efforts to address the real threats from China do not undermine the very values and interests they aim to protect, " Weiss wrote.In her article, Weiss especially pointed out the negative impact of deteriorating bilateral relations on Chinese Americans. She wrote, "People born in China or of Chinese descent should not be categorically treated as a fifth column in the United States; the diaspora has been a hotbed for resistance, which is precisely why the Chinese Communist Party is so bent on monitoring and intimidating it. And if the United States were to go so far as to enact bans or visa restrictions on the basis of national origin, it would compromise the very principles of nondiscrimination and equality before the law that embody the American ideal "Read the Foreign Affairs article: https://fam.ag/3TzhV21 . Juan Zhang , editor at US-China Perception Monitor, contributed this report. A Program for Progressive China Policy During the APA Justice monthly meeting on September 9, 2024, Sandy Shan , Director, Justice Is Global, and Tori Bateman , Director of Advocacy, Quincy Institute, gave a joint presentation on Quincy Institute Brief #62 , "A Program for Progressive China Policy." Sandy Shan began the discussion by highlighting the urgency for a constructive U.S. policy toward China. She emphasized the need to move away from the current confrontational and hawkish stance, which has exacerbated tensions between the two nations and fueled xenophobia against Asian and Asian American communities in the U.S. The forum took place as the House launched “China Week,” underlining the timeliness of the conversation.The Quincy Institute brief was authored by Jake Warner and co-produced by Justice Is Global and the Institute for Policy Studies. It reflects five years of dialogue among progressive groups, drawing on the expertise of specialists in climate, labor, peace, and Asian Pacific American communities. The brief seeks to address gaps in current U.S. policies, dominated by nationalist and militaristic rhetoric, by offering a more thoughtful framework for dealing with China's rise.The brief acknowledges legitimate concerns about China’s actions, including its human rights record and the impact of its policies on American workers. However, it warns that a confrontational approach risks empowering authoritarian forces in both the U.S. and China while undermining broader progressive goals like global economic equity and environmental sustainability. Instead, the brief advocates for a policy that reduces geopolitical tensions and promotes shared prosperity.Tori Bateman expanded on this framework, describing the Quincy Institute’s transpartisan focus on foreign policy. She expressed concern about the growing hawkish rhetoric on Capitol Hill, especially during "China Week." Tori emphasized that while many bills address real issues, they often fail to solve underlying problems and instead increase tensions. The Quincy Institute is engaging with lawmakers to promote a more balanced approach, urging Congress to focus on areas like climate cooperation and educational exchanges instead of exclusionary policies. A summary for the September 2024 monthly meeting is being prepared and will be posted at https://www.apajustice.org/ after review by the speakers. Past monthly meeting summaries are available at https://bit.ly/3kxkqxP .Read the Quincy Institute brief at https://bit.ly/3T2XJVY China in the Heartland: Building a Balanced Approach On October 10, 2024, the U.S. Heartland China Association (USHCA) and the Kansas University (KU) Department of Political Science will co-host a hybrid event on "China in the Heartland: Building a Balanced Approach."As China’s influence grows around the world, skepticism in the United States grows in tandem with it. Evidence of this is seen throughout the Heartland of America, where anti-China legislation and rhetoric have grown over the years. Professor Jack Zhang of the KU Department of Political Science will be joined by Susan Thornton , Vice Chair of the U.S. Heartland China Association and a retired senior U.S. diplomat with decades of experience in Eurasia and East Asia, and Kyle Jaros , an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, for a discussion on building a balanced approach for relations with China.In June 2024, the 4th Annual U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable was held in China for the first time. Co-organized by USHCA and multiple Chinese partners, the broad-based bilateral agricultural platform drew senior leaders spanning government, trade, business, education, and think tanks from both countries to convene around the theme: Global Food Security and Agricultural Cooperation. Major American agriculture players and producers of soy, rice, corn, sorghum, dairy, and beef from 9 different states were among those who traveled to China to participate.First launched in 2021, the annual U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable honors three legendary agriculture scientists who made significant contributions to our world: Norman Borlaug , Yuan Longping , and George Washington Carver . USHCA launched the first U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable virtually with the belief that U.S.-China cooperation is essential for our planet to successfully deal with the critical global challenges of our time. The 4th Annual U.S.-China Agricultural Roundtable reinforced the ongoing agriculture partnership between China and the U.S. while elevating the importance of collaboration to tackle global challenges through sustainable practices, technological innovation, and educational exchanges. Amid global food security concerns, this collaboration serves as a vital demonstration of international cooperation to enhance global food stability and foster understanding. Given both the U.S. and China’s pivotal roles as leading agricultural producers, consumers, and importers, sustained dialogue between the two nations is crucial for shaping resilient food systems and protecting food security worldwide.The in-person portion of the October 10 event is at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045. Watch the event online at https://bit.ly/3zkTyhT . Min Fan , Executive Director of USHCA, has accepted our invitation to speak at the next APA Justice monthly meeting to be held on Monday, October 7, 2024, starting at 1:55 pm ET. Anti-Asian Laws in America - Past, Present, and What's Coming On September 8, 2024, Texas State Representative Gene Wu hosted a Town Hall on "Anti-Asian Laws in America - Past. Present, and What's Coming." During the Town Hall, State Rep. Gene Wu outlined the resurgence of anti-Asian and anti-immigrant laws, particularly targeting Chinese and Japanese communities, in states like Texas. He referenced a history of such laws, dating back to the late 1800s, which banned immigrants from owning property, participating in business, and obtaining citizenship. Though many of these laws were repealed by the 1960s, new legislation in Texas and other states mirrors these discriminatory laws, signaling a renewed threat to Asian Americans.State Rep. Gene Wu emphasized that current laws echo historical patterns, portraying Asian immigrants as spies or traitors without evidence. Project 2025, a comprehensive conservative policy document that focuses heavily on China, mentions China 800 times compared to Russia’s 100 mentions. Project 2025 seeks to impose restrictions on Chinese nationals and Asian Americans, particularly in areas of land ownership, business, and education.The community was urged to wake up to this threat, as these new legislative efforts have already been introduced in multiple states. For instance, Texas has established new committees solely to push bills that restrict Chinese land ownership and educational access, following a broader national trend. This is compared to past laws that targeted Japanese Americans during World War II, even when most were U.S.-born citizens. The urgency is underscored by Project 2025's broader intent to reshape national security policy with a disproportionate focus on China, while impacting Asian Americans domestically.State Rep. Gene Wu has accepted our invitation to speak at the next APA Justice monthly meeting to be held on Monday, October 7, 2024, starting at 1:55 pm ET.Watch State Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall: https://bit.ly/4edgbDV (50:44). Read his presentation: https://bit.ly/3ZzweHR APA Justice Newsletters Web Page Moving to New Website As part of its continuing migration to a new website under construction, we are moving the Newsletters webpage to https://www.apajusticetaskforce.org/newsletters . Content of the existing website will remain, but it will no longer be updated. We value your feedback about the new web page. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org . News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events:2024/09/23 Media Training for Election Season2024/09/23 President's Advisory Commission on AANHPI Public Meeting 2024/09/25 C100: State of Chinese American Survey 2024 2024/09/25-26 APAICS Technology Summit2024/09/26 White House Initiative AA& NHPI Policy Summit2024/09/27 The War for Chinese Talent in America: The Politics of Technology and Knowledge in Sino-U.S. Relations2024/09/29 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/10/02 C100: Asian American Career Ceiling Initiative2024/10/06 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/10/07 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/10/08 Media Training for Election Season2024/10/10 China in the Heartland: Building a Balanced ApproachThe Community Calendar has moved. Visit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 2. Committee of 100 Next Generation Leaders Program Class of 2025 Committee of 100, a non-profit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, announced that applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Next Generation Leaders (NGL) class. The 2025 NGL class will be announced and spotlighted at Committee of 100's 2025 Conference & Gala, which will take place in Los Angeles in April 2025. Launched in 2014, Committee of 100's NGL program convenes an exceptional group of change-makers and rising leaders from diverse sectors, leveraging a collective sense of service and purpose to elevate the impact of each individual. Currently, there are over 200 NGL alumni across a multitude of sectors who make up a vibrant and diverse network. Individuals who demonstrate a remarkable history of professional and personal excellence and are between 25-40 years old are encouraged to apply. To apply for the Committee of 100 Next Generation Leaders Class of 2025, click here . Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) can be found here . The deadline to submit applications is January 10, 2025 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. 3. Incoming and Outgoing Executive Directors of WHIAANHPI Helen Beaudreau has been appointed as the incoming Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI), succeeding Krystal Ka‘ai , who held the position since May 2021. Back View PDF September 23, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter