Newsletter - #196: Florida Hearing Today; TikTok Ban Lawsuit; Chinese Scientists; NASEM Roundtable; More #196: Florida Hearing Today; TikTok Ban Lawsuit; Chinese Scientists; NASEM Roundtable; More In This Issue #196 TODAY, July 18: Federal Court Argument Over Florida’s New Discriminatory Housing Law Texas’ TikTok Ban Hit With First Amendment Lawsuit Who Needs Chinese Scientists? America Does National Academies Roundtable Proceedings News and Activities for the Communities TODAY, July 18: Federal Court Argument Over Florida’s New Discriminatory Housing Law WHAT: The U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida will hear arguments in Shen v. Simpson . A press conference with the legal team and community leaders will follow. CONTACT : Dr. Jim Moyer, Press Secretary jimmoyer1956@gmail.com Attorney Echo King, President echokinglaw@yahoo.com Allegra Harpootlian, 303-748-4051, aharpootlian@aclu.org WHEN: Tuesday, July 18, 1:30 p.m. ET WHERE: Joseph Woodrow Hatchett U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, 111 N. Adams St., Tallahassee, Florida Court information: https://www.flnd.uscourts.gov/tallahassee On July 18, 2023, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida will hear arguments in Shen v. Simpson, a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 264, a new Florida law banning many Chinese immigrants, including people here lawfully as professors, students, employees, and scientists, from buying a home in large swaths of the state. This law also unfairly discriminates against immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, but it singles out people from China for especially draconian restrictions and harsher criminal penalties. The lawsuit Shen v. Simpson was filed on May 22, 2023, by four Chinese immigrants who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, but are now prohibited from purchasing real estate there, as well as a local real estate firm whose business will be affected. The plaintiffs are asking the judge for a preliminary injunction to immediately block the law and declare it unconstitutional.The Chinese immigrants and real estate firm are represented by the DeHeng Law Offices PC, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Florida, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), and the law firm Quinn Emanuel in conjunction with the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA). On June 27, the United States Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction challenging this prejudicial new law. Nineteen other groups have also express their support for the injunction. Ashley Gorski from ACLU and Clay Zhu from DeHeng Law Office will be in court arguing that this law violates the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to equal protection under the law and codifies and expands housing discrimination against people of Asian descent — something expressly forbidden by the Fair Housing Act. Florida Asian American Justice Alliance (FAAJA) and the Yick Wo Institution will hold a protest rally on July 18, denouncing the discriminatory SB 264 “Interests of Foreign Countries” Act. This demonstration will consist of a multiracial, multi-state coalition of concerned citizens, some of whom will be traveling in “freedom buses” to Tallahassee the morning of the hearing to support the civil rights of all US citizens and residents.Reminiscent of the “freedom rides” of the 1960s civil rights movement, these protestors have embraced the color YELLOW to symbolize the fight for the rights of the AAPI community.Those attending the rally in front of the courthouse will be wearing yellow.FAAJA was created after many Chinese Floridians, Chinese American groups, and countless other supporters protested in Tallahassee on April 19, 2023, against the passage of this bill,which violates Floridians’ civil rights and liberties. Despite FAAJA’s efforts, this unjust bill was signed into law on May 8, 2023, and took effect on July 1, 2023.This Tallahassee rally is supported by many major organizations with diverse backgrounds including APA Justice Task Force, Committee of 100 (C100), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Greater Houston League of United Latin American Citizens (GH LULAC), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Stop AAPI Hate, United Chinese Americans (UCA) and more.The time and location of the press conference will be announced later.FAAJA hereby urges the court to rule in favor of the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary injunction and against this unfair treatment of certain targeted groups of people based on their race and country of origin.Read more coverage of the hearing by APA Justice: https://www.apajustice.org/ 2023/07/11 Shen v. Simpson Document 65: Plaintiffs' Report in Support of Their motion for a Preliminary Injunction . Update on Alien Land Bills On June 27, 2023, Louisiana Governor signed House Bill 537 into state law. It becomes effective on August 1, 2023.Follow the tracking map and state-by-state list of alien land bills at https://bit.ly/43oJ0YI . Read APA Justice's full coverage of Alien Land Bills: https://bit.ly/43epBcl Texas’ TikTok Ban Hit With First Amendment Lawsuit According to a press statement on July 13, 2023, researchers and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, asserting that Texas’s TikTok ban, initially imposed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott last year, violates the First Amendment. The ban requires all state agencies, including public universities, to bar employees from downloading or using TikTok on state-owned or -issued devices or networks, as well as on personal devices used to conduct state business. The lawsuit challenges the ban’s application to public university faculty, asserting that it compromises academic freedom and impedes vital research. The Coalition for Independent Technology Research is a group of academics, journalists, civil society researchers, and community scientists that works to advance, defend, and sustain the right to study the impact of technology on society. The coalition’s members include professors at public universities in Texas whose research and teaching have been compromised by the ban. Texas is not the only state to have enacted a TikTok ban of one kind or another. At least 35 states have banned TikTok on state devices and networks. State university systems or universities in 20 states have banned TikTok on university devices, university networks, or both. Montana passed a ban in May 2023; two lawsuits have been filed challenging that law, one by TikTok and another by TikTok users. Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Abbott (1:23-cv-00783) was filed with the Western District of Texas Austin Division.Read the press statement by the Knight First Amendment Institute : https://bit.ly/43r7W0Q Who Needs Chinese Scientists? America Does According to an opinion published by LA Progressive on July 11, 2023, outside the halls of Congress, where alarm bells constantly go off about the Chinese threat, scientists, research laboratory directors, and university officials recognize what a resource the Chinese scientists are. Xie Xiaoliang is one of Harvard’s premier scientists, a biophysical chemist known for his work on DNA. He’s leaving Harvard to take an academic position in his home country, China, one of about 1400 top Chinese scientists who in recent years have given up their US positions and returned to China.The reason is not so much China’s “Thousand Talents” program, which seeks to entice scientists to return home with promises of lucrative academic and research positions. It’s the lingering effects of the Trump and Biden justice department’s China Initiative.That program sought—with outstanding failure—to weed out Chinese scientists, including Chinese Americans, who were supposedly committing economic espionage. The University of Michigan’s president was among many major university leaders who wrote to the US attorney general to complain about the unfairness of the China Initiative, pointing out its racial profiling, lack of evidence of wrongdoing, and pressure on the university to “investigate researchers who are singled out only because of their personal or professional connections with China.” The open letter was signed by the overwhelming majority of Michigan faculty.The China Initiative has ended, but the careers of a number of prominent scientists of Chinese descent in the US were ruined or set back. Fear stalks Chinese visitors and citizens alike. Put simply, the scientific research of Chinese scientists is crucial to international scientific collaboration ( Karin Fischer , The Chronicle of Higher Education, Latitudes, June 14, 2023).There is, to be sure, reason for caution on national security grounds. Concern about research findings here being conveyed to the Chinese military is real. U.S. universities are well aware of the problem and have developed guidelines for collaborative research with security implications. But overwhelmingly, the view at universities and research facilities is that our society and economy would pay a high price if Chinese scientists were suddenly barred from entry. That means US “visa processes should be streamlined, backlogs cleared and talented individuals given expanded opportunities to obtain green cards,” says one writer long involved in promoting US-China ties.Congress isn’t listening, however; right-wing members, with some support from liberals, believe any contact with Chinese scientists is a national security danger. Recently, 10 Republicans on Rep. Mike Gallagher ’s special committee on China wrote Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge that the U.S. scrap the 1979 US-China Science and Technology Agreement, which is up for renewal. That agreement supports cooperation on many scientific projects in agriculture, physics, and the atmosphere, among other areas. Let’s remember that no one appreciates academic freedom more than visitors from China and other countries under authoritarian rule. When that freedom is violated by harassment and suspicion, word gets back to China very quickly, and the rewards for returning to China, in money and prestige, become tantalizing. Academic freedom is under assault in the U.S. for other reasons these days. It is in our self-interest to protect it from those who really don’t have the national interest at heart. Mel Gurtov , author of the opinion, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University (Oregon) and (from 1994 to 2017) Editor-in-Chief of Asian Perspective, an international affairs quarterly. Read the LA Progressive opinion: https://bit.ly/3XPJBAO Science : New Chinese journal gains impact. According to Science on July 13, 2023, just 3 years after launch, The Innovation , a China-based, English language journal, has made a splash. Last month, it notched a citation impact factor of 32.1—behind only Nature ’s 64.8 and Science ’s 56.9 among multidisciplinary journals—in the annual Journal Citation Reports released by the Clarivate analytics company. A group of young Chinese scientists pooled their savings to get the open-access journal up and running, according to the South China Morning Post , which first reported the story. Despite producing nearly 30% of the world’s reviewed scientific papers, China has produced few highly ranked journals. At least two-thirds of The Innovation ’s published papers come from China-based corresponding authors. It accepts only about 13% of submissions; acceptance rates at Science and Nature are below 10%. Read the Science report: https://bit.ly/44vIyss National Academies Roundtable Proceedings On November 14 and 15, 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) convened a two-day workshop under the auspices of the National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable to assess the state of the U.S. research enterprise in a time of increasing global competition. The workshop also featured discussion of the challenges confronting researchers as they seek to ensure the vitality of research and innovation in America, foster increased international scientific research cooperation, and simultaneously counter illicit foreign interference that threatens national security interests. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.Read the proceedings of the NASEM workshop: https://bit.ly/3K4zWR4 News and Activities for the Communities 1. Asian American Tech Worker Filed Suit According to NBC News on July 12, 2023, A former Asian American employee is suing the Silicon Valley tech company Lumentum, alleging that a yearslong pattern of racism ended with his termination when he tried to speak out. Andre Wong , 52, filed the complaint in the Santa Clara Superior Court on June 30, seeking $20 million in damages. His suit comes amid others by tech workers who say they’re pushing against the “bamboo ceiling,” barriers that have kept Asians from advancing to high-level leadership positions. Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/44JXId0 . 2. First Asian American Miss Texas speaks out against Gov. Abbott’s attack on diversity programs According to AsAmNews on July 8, 2023, Miss Texas is asking Governor Greg Abbott and other conservative lawmakers to stop their assault on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs in the state. Last year, Averie Bishop became the first Asian American to win Miss Texas and went on to compete in the Miss America competition. Since then, she has been using her platform to promote the idea that “Y’all means All.” MSNBC published an Op-Ed written by Bishop that addressed attacks on DEI policies from conservative Texas state lawmakers. The Texas Senate recently passed S.B. 17, in April. The bill bans diversity equity inclusion departments in public universities. The Op-Ed also comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court deemed affirmative action programs in university admissions unlawful. Bishop wrote that she worried that the state’s “most vulnerable populations” would be ostracized without DEI policies. She believes the policies are essential to building a better Texas. Bishop herself is a first-generation law school graduate. Her mother was a Filipino immigrant. Growing up, she was one of just two visibly Asian students at her school. Now, she sees a different Texas.Bishop said she’s disappointed that many lawmakers do not want to celebrate that diversity. “Gov. Greg Abbott and state leadership must cease its assault on DEI policy and focus on improving the economic and social livelihood of all of us,” Bishop wrote.Read the AsAmNews report: https://bit.ly/3PZxSxB . Read the MSNBC op-ed: https://on.msnbc.com/43rMVn1 Back View PDF July 18, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #158 Congressional Reception; 01/09 Meeting; Arrowood; Haoyang Yu; Thomas Keon; More News #158 Congressional Reception; 01/09 Meeting; Arrowood; Haoyang Yu; Thomas Keon; More News In This Issue #158 Justice for Sherry Chen 陈霞芬 Congressional Reception 2023/01/09 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Update on the Arrowood Nomination The Intercept Report on The Case of Haoyang Yu 于浩洋 Purdue University Northwest Chancellor Thomas Keon Asian American and Scientific Community News Justice for Sherry Chen 陈霞芬 Congressional Reception On December 13, 2022, "Justice for Sherry Chen Congressional Reception" was held on Capitol Hill in honor of her historic settlement and in appreciation for the many elected officials, community organizations and leaders, and grass-roots individuals who supported her 10-year fight for justice. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Judy Chu and Whip Ted Lieu led the opening remarks. They also led the first Capitol Hill press conference on Sherry's case going back to May 2015. During the 10-year span, Sherry courageously stood her ground and won three judicial battles - having her unjust criminal case dropped by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2015, winning the appeal to reverse the discriminatory termination of her employment against the Department of Commerce (DOC) in 2018, and settling the lawsuit against DOJ and DOC with a historic amount of over $1.5 million in 2022. In addition to CAPAC, Sherry was helped by the leadership of Maryland State Senator Susan Lee who mobilized the Asian American and scientific communities nationwide in successfully calling for a congressional hearing on racial profiling and the plight of Asian American scientists. Sherry gave a compelling testimony in the 2021 Congressional Roundtable titled “Researching while Chinese American: Ethnic Profiling, Chinese American Scientists and a New American Brain Drain” chaired by Rep. Jamie Raskin of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and joined by CAPAC. The YouTube video of the Roundtable has received more than 14,000 views. Sherry was also helped by an investigation led by Senator Roger Wicker which revealed abuse and misconduct at multiple levels of the DOC stemming from the rogue Investigations and Threat Management Service, including the profiling of DOC Asian American employees for as many as 15 years. Dozens of participants came from as far as California and across the U.S. to join the event. More descriptions and photos about the reception are being added to the APA Justice webpage on Sherry Chen at: http://bit.ly/APAJ_Sherry_Chen The LinkedIn post of MIT Technology Review report on Sherry Chen and her historic settlement has received over 48,000 views so far: http://bit.ly/3GZCOxQ Watch the Chinese-language report by Voice of America on the 2015 Capitol Hill press conference (美议员怀疑陈霞芬间谍案有族裔因素) here: https://youtu.be/CBsEx-A_yUw (video 2:43) 01/09/2023 APA Justice Monthly Meeting The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held on Monday, January 9, 2023. Invited speakers to help us bring in the new year are: Judy Chu, Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American (Invited) Sherry Chen, Hydrologist, U.S. Department of Commerce (Confirmed) Haipei Shue, President, United Chinese Americans (Invited) Vincent Wang, Chair, Ohio Chinese American Association; Co-organizer, APA Justice (Confirmed) Patrick Toomey, Deputy Director, and Ashley Gorski, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU (Invited) John Trasvina, Civil Rights Attorney; Former Principal Legal Advisor, Department of Homeland Security; Former Dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law (Confirmed) John Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei, Vincent Wang, and Jeremy Wu - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org . Read past monthly meeting summaries here: https://bit.ly/3kxkqxP . Update on the Arrowood Nomination The 117th Congress ended on January 3, 2023, without action by the Senate on the nomination of Mr. Casey Arrowood to become the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.We are grateful to the Senate Judiciary Committee senators and staff who heard concerns from Asian Americans in Tennessee and throughout the nation about Mr. Arrowood's record carrying out the “China Initiative” and unjustly prosecuting University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) Professor Anming Hu 胡安明. Throughout 2022, we expressed our serious concerns to Congress and the White House about Department of Justice attorneys refiling charges that the trial judge concluded "no rational jury" would convict.The Biden Administration has the option to renominate Mr. Arrowood in the 118th Congress, an action the Asian American community will continue to steadfastly oppose.The White House has three additional options instead of renominating Mr. Arrowood for the position of U.S. Attorney: Nominate the current U.S. Attorney Francis (Trey) Hamilton, III for the position Do not nominate anyone for the position and permit Mr. Hamilton to remain in office Restart the entire process and nominate someone other than Mr. Hamilton or Mr. Arrowood The Arrowood nomination was unacceptable and remains unacceptable because of his involvement in the conduct of the investigation of Professor Hu, bringing the faulty charges, and intending to refile the charges that prompted Judge Varlan to issue an acquittal. According to the following chronological records, Mr. Hamilton is the current U.S. Attorney who was appointed by the U.S. District Court of Eastern Tennessee, not the White House. Mr. Hamilton will serve in this capacity until the vacancy is filled by a Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed nominee. In his role of Acting U.S. Attorney at that time, Mr. Hamilton might have an even larger role than Mr. Arrowood in the decision to approve or direct the prosecutorial actions against Professor Hu. For example, Mr. Hamilton reportedly joined the presentation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to UTK with Mr. Arrowood in September 2019, in which the FBI made false accusations of Professor Hu of being a spy for China and an agent of China's military. 2017/11/21 Mr. James Douglas Overbey sworn in as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee2018/11/01 Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the now-defunct "China Initiative"2020/02/25 Professor Anming Hu indicted with Mr. Casey Arrowood as the lead prosecutor2021/01/20 The Joe Biden administration began2021/02/28 Mr. Overbey resigned2021/03/01 Mr. Trey Hamilton became Acting US Attorney 2021/06/07 Professor Hu became the first academic to go to trial under the "China Initiative"2021/06/16 Mistrial of Professor Hu declared2021/06/17 Reps. Ted Lieu, Mondaire Jones, and Pramila Jayapal requested DOJ/OIG investigation2021/07/30 DOJ announced its intent to retry Professor Hu2021/09/09 Professor Hu acquitted of all charges2021/12/26 Mr. Hamilton appointed US Attorney by the U.S. District Court of Eastern Tennessee2022/02/23 DOJ ended the “China Initiative”2022/08/01 White House nominated Mr. Arrowood to be US Attorney2023/01/03 The Arrowood nomination expired without action by the Senate The Intercept Report on The Case of Haoyang Yu 于浩洋 On December 22, 2022, The Intercept published "CHIPPED AWAY: A Competitor Put the FBI on Haoyang Yu's Trail. The Investigation Didn't Go as Planned." According to the report, Massachusetts engineer Haoyang Yu, who came under investigation after a competitor told the FBI that his semiconductor chip company "smells a bit fishy." A sprawling, four-agency federal investigation ensued. Believing they had a sensitive technology case involving China, where Yu was born, agents mounted a hidden camera outside his home, rifled through his trash, and followed his wife as she brought their kids to and from sports practice. But the investigation didn't go as planned. An attempted sting failed. Nor did the investigation uncover solid evidence of crimes involving China. In June, a jury acquitted Yu of 18 of 19 charges. His lawyers are now asking a federal judge to throw out the last charge, arguing that Yu, a US citizen, was targeted because of his ethnicity at a moment when the Justice Department was charting plans for the fraught "China Initiative."Read more about The Intercept report: https://bit.ly/3vc59dh . Read more about the story of Haoyang Yu: https://bit.ly/APAJ_HaoyangYu Purdue University Northwest Chancellor Thomas Keon According to CNN on December 23, 2022, the Purdue Board of Trustees issued a formal reprimand to Purdue University Northwest (PNW) Chancellor Thomas Keon in response to a racist comment he made during a commencement ceremony on December 10, 2022. The board’s chair, Mike Berghoff, called Keon’s statements “extremely offensive and insensitive.” The decision to reprimand Keon, rather than dismiss him, has spurred criticism from other faculty. In an open letter addressed to the trustees, PNW Faculty Senate Chairman Thomas Roach further called on the university to dismiss the chancellor. “We are not demanding his removal to punish him, we require his removal because he is not qualified to represent us,” wrote Roach. He called Keon’s ongoing role “an insult to the Asian community.” “This decision by the board of trustees is negligent and unacceptable, and your explanation for your inaction insults our intelligence,” he went on. The PNW Faculty Senate cast a vote of no-confidence for the chancellor. Keon received 20 votes of confidence and 135 votes of no-confidence. His “inexcusable behavior caused national and international outrage” and insulted the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, including faculty, staff, and students at Purdue Northwest, the Faculty Senate said in an open letter sent to Keon. On December 16, 2022, the PNW chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) condemned Chancellor Keon's remarks in a press release. According to the statement, Chancellor Keon's response "suggests, at best, a highly troublesome level of ignorance, insensitivity, and lack of judgement on his part. But it is more than any personal racism by one particular university official; it suggests the all-but-complete ignorance of the institutionalized racism faced by Asians and other peoples of color in this country." The statement concludes that " the time has come for Chancellor Keon to resign, or else to be removed by the Purdue University Board of Trustees, so that a leader better attuned to what it takes to engage multiple constituencies with respect–not ridicule–can be found." According to an opinion by Diverse Education , PNW Chancellor Keon's mockery of an "Asian" language is "emblematic of a wider problem in American higher education." Multiple Asian American organizations are outraged and continue to call for Keon's resignation, including the Japanese American Citizens League and an open letter demanding accountability from Purdue University: https://bit.ly/3vtyjVG . Asian American and Scientific Community News and Activities Science Calls for Appointment of NIH Director Now. On December 16, 2022, Science published an editorial titled "Appoint a new NIH director, now." There has been a failure to confirm a new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since Francis Collins stepped down a year ago. According to the editorial, Lawrence Tabak has been the interim NIH director, but it is time for some new faces after the lengthy Collins administration. Tabak was an NIH deputy director and the deputy ethics counselor under Collins. It’s unclear who or what is holding up the nomination. Is the White House simply incapable of deciding whom to nominate, or more likely, has it been distracted by other matters? Either is possible, but both are indefensible. The editorial concludes that "[t]he Biden campaign leveraged the support of the scientific community to win the presidency. Leaving the most visible science position open for a year is a betrayal of that support. President Biden must personally intervene to correct this now." APA Justice nominated Dr. David D. Ho 何大一 to the White House as a candidate to become the 17th NIH Director in November 2021. Read more about the Science editorial: https://bit.ly/3VgpHMh Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI). On December 1, 2022, SCCEI published a brief on "What Is the Impact of U.S.-China Tensions on U.S. Science?" revealing that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) investigations into hundreds of U.S. scientists in two years (2019-2020) have brought about a 1.9% decline in the publication rate and a 7.1% decline in the citation rate of U.S. scientists with collaborators in China, compared with U.S. scientists who had collaborated with scientists in other countries. The adverse effects of the investigations were observed across many U.S. institutions of higher education, particularly salient for scientists of Asian heritage, fields that receive more funding from the NIH, and fields with a higher concentration of U.S.-China collaborations. In fields more affected by the NIH investigations, the U.S. and China both produced fewer publications during 2019 and 2020 compared to the rest of the world, suggesting that U.S.-China political tensions affect overall scientific progress. Qualitative interviews with 12 scientists suggest that a reluctance to start or continue collaborations with China partners and the resulting loss in research talent and access to labs and equipment may drive longer-term declines in publication quality and quality. The study was based on publication records of 102,000 medical and life scientists in the U.S. between 2010 and 2020. On December 9, 2022, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) hosted a webinar where SCCEI authors presented their methodology and findings of the study. Read more about the SCCEI study at https://stanford.io/3YWoLje . Watch the CSIS video and dsicussions here: https://bit.ly/3hSZdTJ 2,200 Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files Digitized and Now Online . Initially set to ban immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States for ten years, the Chinese Exclusions Act was extended and expanded to all Chinese persons and became permanent law in 1902. It was repealed in 1943. Under the leadership of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congress condemned the discriminatory laws in 2012. According to Federal News Network on December 27, 2022, more than 2,200 Chinese Exclusion Act case files held by the National Archives at Riverside, California, are now available online in the National Archives Catalog, thanks to a collaboration with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. The project began in 2018. Professors and students from California State University, San Bernardino, and the University of California at Riverside joined the team. National Archives at Riverside staff trained the student interns, who digitized 56,507 documents using donated scanners. These records document the movement of Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans in and out of the United States during the exclusion era. Around 10 percent of Riverside’s Chinese Exclusion Act case files have been digitized. 692 citizen archivists have transcribed over 25,000 pages of the records so far. Read more at https://bit.ly/3I2iMn7 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 3, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

1. From Past Prejudice to Present Policy: The Impact of Land Ownership Exclusion Laws on Diverse Communities 2024-2025 Alien Land Laws Wednesday, December 11, 2024 An insightful discussion on the troubling resurgence of alien land laws — historically discriminatory policies that are reemerging in state legislatures across the U.S. Originally designed to prevent non-citizens, particularly those from AAPI communities, from owning property, these laws are now being reframed as safeguards to national resources. We discussed whether these laws properly address national security concerns or whether they are merely a pretext that infringes upon civil rights and liberties under the guise of protection. Our panel of legal experts and advocates delved into the history of alien land laws, examine their renewed impact on vulnerable communities and discuss key cases, including a bill recently introduced in Florida. Whether you’re a policymaker, legal professional, journalist, or concerned citizen, this event was essential for anyone committed to upholding justice and equity in America. Previous Item Next Item

Chinese American? Who is a Chinese American? What is the Chinese American population? These questions may appear simple on the surface, but they are subject to definitions and interpretations. They have also evolved over time. Defining Chinese American For data collection purposes, the Office of Management and Budget is the official authority to define racial and ethnic categories for the United States. Today, Chinese American is a sub-category of Asian American, defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam." This government definition generally reflects a recognized social definition. It is not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically, nor is it linked to the standard geographical definitions. In practice, an individual associates his or her race and ethnicity by self-identification. The U.S. Census Bureau produces official statistics on the Chinese American population according to this definition and self-identified data, which include U.S. citizens and nationals, as well as permanent residents. Under this definition and interpretation, a Chinese American may also be described as a Chinese in America. Definition used in social, legal and other applications may vary, such as the requirement of U.S. citizenship. Basic Statistics The first recorded arrival of three Chinese sailors in the U.S. travelled from Canton (now Guangzhou), China on board the ship Pallas to Baltimore, Maryland in August 1785. The first recorded Chinese immigrants arrived in the U.S. around 1820. By 1860, the census counted 34,933 Chinese living in California. More than three quarters of them were miners and laborers who first came to the U.S. during the 1848-1855 Gold Rush and then helped built and completed the First Transcontinental Railroad by 1869. The 2010 census showed that the Asian population grew faster than any other race group over the previous decade. Chinese Americans was the largest detailed Asian group, with about 3.3 million people reporting Chinese alone and an additional 700,000 people identifying as both Chinese and one or more additional detailed Asian groups and/or another race. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, the Census Bureau estimated a population of Chinese Americans of one or more races to be slightly over 5 million, or about 1.5% of the total U.S. population. Additional statistics on Chinese in America are available from, for example, the Census Bureau , the Migration Policy Institute , and the Pew Research Center . Beyond Statistics Beyond these statistics, the Chinese American population is complex as it has evolved over the past two hundred years. Several waves of immigrations have occurred; they were also severely repressed for more than 60 years under the Chinese Exclusion Act. There are American-born Chinese (ABC) whose roots have been here for generations; there are also recent naturalized citizens and immigrants of diverse economic and educational background who came from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, more in-depth understanding about the Chinese American population varies according to perspectives, experiences, and even aspirations, notably between ABCs and more recent naturalized citizens and immigrants. Two prominent Chinese American leaders of such diverse background, who have long been engaged with APA Justice, offer their views on this topic. They are: Frank H. Wu (吴华扬), William L. Prosser Distinguished Professor, University of California Hastings College of the Law and author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White . Frank was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan. His paper, "The New Chinese Diaspora Embracing the Model Minority and Perpetual Foreigner? ," was orginally published in Chinese Historical Society of America: History & Perspectives . Chinese translation of the paper was made by Kathy Liu, Steve Ning, and Julia Pan. Xiaoyan Zhang (张小彥), visiting professor at University of Pittsburgh and Chair of United Chinese Americans (UCA). Xiaoyang was born in Beijing, China and came to the U.S. in the early 1980s. He is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Xiaoyan authored the UCA manifesto "From Sojourner to Citizen " in 2018 and shares a paper here "American Democracy in the Eyes of a New Immigrant from China " about his personal experience and understanding. A Chinese verison is also available. China Policy: Huaren and Huaqiao The Chinese diaspora, consisting of both Chinese living overseas who are citizens of China (huaqiao 华侨), and people of Chinese descent who are citizens of foreign countries (huaren 华人), have significantly shaped the making of modern China. China’s policy towards its diaspora is primarily governed by its national interests and foreign policy imperatives. However, the Chinese government has been careful to ensure that the huaqiao and the huaren fall into different policy domains: Chinese citizens living overseas are subject to China’s domestic policies, while Chinese descendants who are citizens of other countries come under China’s foreign affairs. Nevertheless, from the beginning, the latter continue to be regarded as kinsfolk distinct from other foreign nationals. The huaqiao-huaren distinction is often blurred in ordinary discourse and this has been a source of much misunderstanding. However, it has not been the policy of the Chinese government to blur this distinction, and it is acutely aware of the complexity of the issue and is therefore very cautious about implying any change. As such, when terms such as huaqiao-huaren are introduced in the official lexicon, they are meant to acknowledge certain historical and contemporary realities, and not to deliberately obfuscate the two categories. The use of the combined term is in fact a recognition of the clear-cut distinction between the two groups, and is meant to convey a semantic balance in which neither category is emphasized at the expense of the other. And more from below by Wu Xiaoan, professor of history at Peking University and director of its Centre for the Study of Chinese Overseas Huaren or huaqiao? Beijing respects the difference and is not coercing foreigners to toe its line China’s Evolving Policy Towards The Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia (1949–2018) US Policy: National, Citizenship, US Persons U.S. State Department on Dual Nationality and Citizenship : Section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states that “the term ‘national of the United States’ means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.” Therefore, U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals. Non-citizen nationality status refers only individuals who were born either in American Samoa or on Swains Island to parents who are not citizens of the United States. The concept of dual nationality means that a person is a national of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own nationality laws based on its own policy. Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. national parents may be both a U.S. national and a national of the country of birth. Or, an individual having one nationality at birth may naturalize at a later date in another country and become a dual national. U.S. law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one nationality or another. A U.S. citizen may naturalize in a foreign state without any risk to his or her U.S. citizenship. However, persons who acquire a foreign nationality after age 18 by applying for it may relinquish their U.S. nationality if they wish to do so... Dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws of both countries, and either country has the right to enforce its laws. It is important to note the problems attendant to dual nationality. Claims of other countries upon U.S. dual-nationals often place them in situations where their obligations to one country are in conflict with the laws of the other. For data collection and national security purposes, a "U.S. person" includes citizens, lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens, and corporations incorporated in the United States. See U.S. Code § 1801 (i): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1801 VS

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Newsletter - #93 Update On Campaign; Matt Olsen Confirmed; Week Of Action; Reports And Reminders #93 Update On Campaign; Matt Olsen Confirmed; Week Of Action; Reports And Reminders Back View PDF November 1, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #7 Houston Community Calls For Help; Responses To August 3 Questions #7 Houston Community Calls For Help; Responses To August 3 Questions Back View PDF August 5, 2020 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

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Newsletter - #382 UCLA Research; CAPAC; Perpetual Foreigner; US Universities Retreat; Science on Science #382 UCLA Research; CAPAC; Perpetual Foreigner; US Universities Retreat; Science on Science In This Issue #382 · UCLA Research Series: The Human Cost of Trump's Mass Deportation Drive · 03/10 CAPAC, Minnesota Leaders and Organizations Virtual Press Conference · 03/25 Webinar: The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype · SCMP : As U.S. Universities Retreat from China, Others Step In · Science : National Science Foundation and NIST · News and Activities for the Communities UCLA Research Series: The Human Cost of Trump's Mass Deportation Drive Over the past several months, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge has released a series of three data-driven reports documenting the dramatic escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement under the Trump administration. Drawing on ICE administrative records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the reports paint a sobering picture of who is actually being targeted — and what it means for communities of color across the country. Report 1 (October 2025): Latino ICE Arrests Surge Under Trump The first report found that during President Trump's first 100 days, Latino arrests by ICE averaged 558 per day — more than double the rate under the Biden administration. Arrests surged further after White House adviser Stephen Miller directed ICE to make 3,000 arrests per day, peaking at a 253% year-over-year increase in June 2025. One of the most significant shifts was the dramatic rise in community arrests — occurring at worksites, schools, and public spaces — which grew by 255% and comprised 42% of all Trump-era arrests, up from 27% under Biden. Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans accounted for the largest shares, while Venezuelan arrests surged 361%. Notably, the data show that arrest rates were not tied to local crime levels, but instead appeared shaped by political alignment and the size of Latino noncitizen populations. Read the report on Latino ICE Arrests Surge Under Trump: https://bit.ly/UCLA_ICESeries1 Report 2 (December 2025): Asian ICE Removals Under Trump The second report examined the impact on Asian communities, finding that the number of Asians removed by ICE was one and a half times higher during the first six months of the Trump administration than the same period under Biden, rising steadily from over 400 per month in February 2025 to over 700 by July 2025. Over two-thirds of those removed came from India and China, with Vietnamese and Nepali removals surging twelvefold and tenfold, respectively. Non-criminals continued to make up 74% of Asian removals. More troubling still, the administration increasingly targeted ex-convicts who had long since served their sentences and reintegrated into their communities — the median time between conviction and deportation jumped from 2.5 years under Biden to 5.5 years under Trump, and removals of those convicted a decade or more ago increased sixfold. Read the report on Asian ICE Removals: https://bit.ly/UCLA_ICESeries2 Report 3 (January 2026): Latino ICE Detentions Dramatically Reshaped Under Trump The third report shifted focus to what happens after arrest. The number of noncriminal Latino detainees entering ICE custody each month increased sixfold during the first eight months of the Trump administration — from an average of 900 per month under Biden to about 6,000, peaking at nearly 10,500 in September 2025. Nearly three quarters of all immigrants detained had never been convicted of a criminal offense, directly contradicting the administration's claim that enforcement targets "the worst of the worst." Conditions worsened considerably: the median length of detention rose from one to three days under Biden to over 25 days under Trump, and 55% of noncriminal Latino detainees were transferred out of state — up from 18% — in some cases to obstruct access to legal support. Only 9% of noncriminal Latino detainees were released back into their communities under Trump, compared to 42% under Biden, while 88% were deported. Read the report on Latino ICE Detentions Dramatically Reshaped Under Trump: https://bit.ly/UCLA_ICESeries3 . The Bigger Picture Taken together, the three reports document a systematic escalation that goes far beyond targeting criminals or recent arrivals. The researchers warn that enforcement has created four overlapping harms: direct hardship for those detained, financial and emotional devastation for their families, widespread fear that discourages Latino and AAPI community members from going to work, school, or medical appointments, and broader damage to the U.S. economy through the loss of immigrant labor. For the AAPI community specifically, the data show that enforcement has already swept up hundreds of Korean workers, Vietnamese families, Chinese nationals, and others — and there is no sign of it slowing down. Sources: UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, in collaboration with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, using ICE data from UC Berkeley School of Law's Deportation Data Project. 03/10 CAPAC, Minnesota Leaders and Organizations Virtual Press Conference WHAT : CAPAC, Minnesota Leaders and Organizations Highlight Impact of Trump’s Immigration Policies on Asian Communities WHEN : Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 4:00 pm ET WHERE : Virtual Press Conference HOSTS : · U.S. Representative Grace Meng (NY-06), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) · Minnesota State Asian Pacific Caucus · Minnesota-based community organizations Speakers: · Rep. Grace Meng , Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) · Minnesota State Representative Liz Lee , Secretary of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators (NAPACSL) · Minnesota State Representative Ethan Cha , Chair of the MN Asian Pacific Caucus · Xay Yang , Executive Director of Transforming Generations · Kaziah Josiah , Executive Director of Urban Village · Quyen Đình , Executive Director of Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) · Chhaya Chhoum , Executive Director of Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN) · Along with other organizations DESCRIPTION : This is a virtual press conference to highlight the devastating impacts of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies on Asian communities. REGISTRATION : https://bit.ly/3P2gt96 03/25 Webinar: The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype WHAT : The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype: New Data on Asian American Experiences WHEN : March 25, 2026, 2:00-3:00 pm ET WHERE : Webinar HOSTS: Committee of 100, NORC at University of Chicago Speakers: · Teresa Hsu , PhD, Founder and Executive Director of SPEAK (Supportive Place for Empowering Asian Americans & Kins) · Vivien Leung , PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Santa Clara · Katie Soo , Trustee of the Asia Society Global Board of Trustees and Board Chair of Asia Society Southern California DESCRIPTION : This webinar is a conversation highlighting new findings from the second report in the 2025 State of Chinese Americans survey four-part series, examining how the assumption of foreignness shapes experiences of belonging for Chinese Americans and broader Asian American communities. The data reveals a troubling pattern: U.S.-born Asian Americans continue to be viewed as perpetual outsiders, facing race-based discrimination and questioning of their belonging at higher rates than any other racial group in the nation. For those who regularly encounter these assumptions, feelings of exclusion nearly triple, and psychological distress is almost twice as high. This stereotype can lead to dampened political engagement, and thus, decreased responsiveness from policymakers to Asian American community needs. Our panelists will explore what these findings and what can be done: REGISTRATION: https://www.committee100.org/events/perpetual-foreigner-stereotype/ SCMP : As U.S. Universities Retreat from China, Others Step In What began in 1978 with a small delegation of Shanghai professors visiting American universities — a trip personally approved by Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 — grew into decades of landmark U.S.-China academic partnerships. Today, that era is quietly coming to an end. On March 8, 2026, The South China Morning Post reports that elite Sino-American joint ventures are collapsing under the weight of geopolitical pressure, with casualties including the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University joint institute, the Georgia Tech-Shenzhen Institute, the Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, and the Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute. A 2025 House of Representatives report called for the termination of nearly 50 U.S.-China academic partnerships deemed "high risk," targeting programs at NYU Shanghai, Johns Hopkins, Temple University, and the University of Minnesota, among others. But the void left by American institutions is not going unfilled. China's Ministry of Education approved a record 285 joint education programs in 2025, drawing in universities from Russia, Britain, Italy, South Korea, Germany, and New Zealand. This brings the total number of active Sino-foreign partnerships to 1,589. As Denis Simon , former executive vice-chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, observed: "The US anxieties leave space or become harder to work with, and others step into it. China also wants a portfolio that reduces dependence on any single country — especially one in a contested strategic relationship." The shift carries long-term implications. Peterson Institute analyst Li Zhuowen noted that demand for elite STEM education in China remains strong regardless of where it comes from: "If the US cuts supply, students and universities will simply look elsewhere. These partners do not replicate US strengths one to one, but they are sufficient for China's current needs." Li was equally blunt about the future of flagship U.S.-China academic ventures: "The era of the 'flagship' US-China joint university is likely over for the near future. The trust required to build a new institution from scratch simply does not exist right now." Meanwhile, Chinese students are increasingly turning to joint-venture universities inside China as a cost-effective alternative to studying abroad, with enrollment at institutions like NYU Shanghai and Duke Kunshan hitting record highs even as Chinese enrollment at U.S. universities has fallen from a peak of 372,000 to 277,000. For many students, the calculus is straightforward. As one student told the SCMP : "The geopolitical climate and safety were major considerations … studying in the US was completely off the table for me." The consequences of America's academic retreat extend well beyond individual campuses. As the U.S. pulls back, it is ceding influence over the next generation of global talent — and handing competitors a strategic opening that may take decades to reclaim. Read the South China Morning Post report: https://bit.ly/4bcEu4H Science : National Science Foundation and NIST According to Science , from gutted fellowship programs to restricted foreign scientists, the Trump administration's interventions at two of the nation's premier research agencies are raising urgent alarms across the scientific community. A convergence of policy changes at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is painting a troubling picture for the future of American science. Over the past year, the Trump administration has moved aggressively to reorient federal research agencies around its political priorities—artificial intelligence and quantum computing—while simultaneously curtailing the very talent pipelines that have long powered U.S. scientific leadership. The consequences are being felt from graduate school applications to laboratory benches. NSF's Graduate Fellowship: A 70-Year Legacy at Risk Since 1952, NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program has been a launchpad for American scientific talent—producing over 50 Nobel laureates and providing three-year stipends exclusively to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The administration first cut the program nearly in half from its customary 2,300 awards. After a public outcry, 500 fellowships were restored, but skewed heavily toward AI and quantum computing. This year, NSF went further, returning at least 50 applications without review—most in biology and the life sciences. The paradox is glaring: a program designed entirely to cultivate domestic scientists is being gutted in the name of prioritizing American researchers. Meanwhile, China now supplies one-third of drugs licensed by Western pharmaceutical companies. Cutting the life sciences pipeline cedes that ground further. "The administration's actions fly in the face of its apparent goal of restricting federal funding only to domestic scientists." Read the Science editorial: https://bit.ly/4rPAcY6 NSF Leadership Confirms White House Control Over Grantmaking In a rare public briefing to the National Science Board, Acting Director Brian Stone and Chief Management Officer Micah Cheatham acknowledged that the White House has fundamentally reoriented NSF's $9 billion portfolio. When asked how the agency might respond to board recommendations—such as investing in food cost research—Stone was candid: NSF's role is to demonstrate alignment with administration priorities, not to generate them. The staffing toll is severe. NSF has lost 35% of its workforce in the past year, falling to roughly 1,300 employees. Only rotating scientists with AI or quantum expertise had contracts renewed. The agency's new "frontier initiatives" framework contains just two areas: AI and quantum. Annual grant solicitations have been cut in half. "I see it as the administration exerting political control over what has traditionally been NSF's ability to fund the best science." — Former senior NSF administrator Even the setting of the briefing underscored the disruption: NSF was evicted from its Alexandria headquarters in December 2025 to make room for HUD and was forced to hold its board meeting at the American Chemical Society—in a room too small for press or public. Read the Science report: https://bit.ly/3NlD1kI NIST Moves to Expel Hundreds of Foreign Researchers NIST is implementing sweeping restrictions on international researchers at its campuses in Boulder and Gaithersburg. Foreign scientists have already lost after-hours lab access without a federal escort, and a proposed rule would cap visiting researchers at a three-year maximum—a threshold most Ph.D. students cannot meet. Up to 500 foreign graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scientists could ultimately lose access, including green card holders. Scientists from "high-risk" countries—China, Russia, Iran, and others—face lab access reviews as early as March 31. The rollout has drawn sharp criticism for its opacity. Former NIST Director Patrick Gallagher noted there has been no written policy, no formal public statement, and minimal notice to affected researchers. House Democrats Zoe Lofgren and April McClain Delaney wrote to acting Director Craig Burkhardt in February calling the stonewalling "unacceptable" and noting that a recent GAO security report recommended nothing close to changes this drastic. The stakes extend well beyond NIST's campuses. Founded in 1901, the institute underpins American standards in everything from computer chips to atomic clocks—and has won five Nobel Prizes. Experts warn that gutting its international talent pool could cost the U.S. its hard-won lead in quantum science and AI. Read the Science report: https://bit.ly/4bsLZpw ***** Taken together from these Science reports, these developments at NSF and NIST represent a compounding threat to American scientific competitiveness. The administration has simultaneously restricted the entry of foreign-born talent through tighter visa policies, reduced the pipeline of domestic scientists through cuts to programs like the GRFP, and concentrated research funding in a narrow band of politically favored technologies. All of this is unfolding against a backdrop of deep cuts to federal research budgets and an exodus of experienced staff from the agencies that manage science funding. The paradox is hard to escape: an administration that says it wants to make America preeminent in science and technology is systematically dismantling the institutions and talent pipelines that built that preeminence. The United States' scientific leadership over the past century was not accidental—it was the product of open institutions, international collaboration, and long-term investment in basic research across all disciplines. Whether those foundations can be rebuilt, if damaged further, remains an open question. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2026/03/17 Equity Pulse: Is Your Citizenship at Stake? 2026/03/24 Mass Surveillance and the ICE Crackdown: What the AAPI Community Needs to Know 2026/03/25 The Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype: New Data on Asian American Experiences 2026/04/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting 2026/04/08 Perspectives on Careers in Arts and Entertainment 2026/04/14 Recollections, Pioneers and Heroes - Anla ChengVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 2. USCET Is Hiring 2026 Summer Interns! This is an ideal opportunity for students passionate about advancing the U.S.-China relations and cross-cultural dialogue. Interns gain hands-on experience working in a fast-paced, dynamic nonprofit environment dedicated to fostering mutual understanding between the United States and China. US-China Education Trust (USCET) encourages eligible undergraduate juniors, seniors, and graduate students to apply. The application is currently rolling with a deadline of Wednesday, March 25, 2026. To learn more, visit: https://uscet.org/internships/ . # # # 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 March 10, 2026 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Xiaofeng Wang 王晓峰 Associate Dean for Research James H. Rudy Professor of Computer Science, Engineering and Informatics Director of Center for Security and Privacy in Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Director of Secure Computing Indiana University Table of Contents Overview Continuing Developments Overview Xiaofeng Wang, a prominent cybersecurity professor at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), was terminated on March 28, 2025—the same day FBI and Department of Homeland Security agents conducted searches at his homes in Bloomington and Carmel, Indiana. The university has not publicly disclosed the reasons for his dismissal. Professor Wang's wife, Nianli Ma—a library systems analyst at the university—was also terminated on March 24, 2025. The American Association of University Professors' Bloomington chapter has criticized the university's handling of Wang's termination, asserting that it violated due process and university policies. The specific reasons behind the federal investigation remain undisclosed, and the search warrants have been sealed. Efforts have been made to unseal these documents to gain clarity on the situation. Professor Wang is reportedly represented by Attorneys Jason Covert and Jackie Bennett Jr. of Taft Law . References and Links 2025/04/10 Indiana Daily Student: Nianli Ma terminated 4 days before FBI searched her and Xiaofeng Wang’s homes 2025/04/03 The Herald-Times: IU professor Xiaofeng Wang investigated for academic misconduct before FBI search 2025/04/02 Indiana Public Media: Lawyers: Fired cybersecurity expert and wife safe and not charged with a crime 2025/04/02 Indiana Daily Student: IU computer science faculty condemn Xiaofeng Wang’s termination in letter 2025/04/02 WIRED: Cybersecurity Professor Faced China-Funding Inquiry Before Disappearing, Sources Say 2025/04/02 South China Morning Post: Exclusive | US cyber expert Wang Xiaofeng ‘is safe’ after FBI raids, source says 2025/04/02 Indiana Daily Student: IU professor and library analyst face no pending criminal charges, lawyers say 2025/04/02 Reuters: Cybersecurity professor targeted by FBI has not been detained, lawyer says 2025/04/01 South China Morning Post: US cyber expert Wang Xiaofeng took Singapore job before FBI raids: university letter 2025/04/01 Indiana Public Media: Fired prof accused of research misconduct, FBI involvement unclear 2025/03/31 CNBC: Indiana U. fired cybersecurity professor XiaoFeng Wang on day FBI searched his homes: Union 2025/03/31 South China Morning Post: China Initiative 2.0? Raids on scientist Wang Xiaofeng revive spectre from first Trump era 2025/03/31 Indiana Daily Student: Faculty organization alleges IU violated policy in terminating Xiaofeng Wang 2025/03/31 Fox-59: IU faculty protests firing of professor in FBI probe 2025/03/31 WTHR: I U professor allegedly fired after FBI raids on homes in Carmel and Bloomington 2025/03/31 WIRED: Cybersecurity Professor Mysteriously Disappears as FBI Raids His Homes 2025/03/30 ARS Technica: FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado 2025/03/30 Indiana Public Media: FBI won’t say why agents searched homes of IU cybersecurity expert 2025/03/29 MSN: Professor Abruptly Fired Amid FBI Raid 2025/03/28 WTHR: FBI seizes boxes of evidence after searching Carmel, Bloomington homes Return to Table of Contents Continuing Developments On April 12, 2025, the Federation of Asian Professor Associations (FAPA) issued a public statement regarding the case of Professor Wang, condemning his termination by IU and raising serious concerns about the erosion of due process, threats to academic freedom, and the ongoing pattern of racial profiling targeting Chinese American scientists. FAPA also sent an open letter to IU President Pamela Whitten. On April 1, 2025, Stanford University cybersecurity scholar Riana Pfefferkorn filed a motion Tuesday to unseal the warrants used to execute searches of IU professor Xiaofeng Wang and Nianli Ma’s homes last week. She filed the motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. On April 17, 2025, John E. Childress, the acting U.S. attorney of the Southern District of Indiana argued the search warrants used in the FBI searches of Xiaofeng Wang and Nianli Ma’s homes March 28 should remain sealed in response to the motion to release the warrants. On April 14, 2024, the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) hosted a State of Play Town Hall, in which Nianli Ma, wife of Professor Xiaoxeng Wang spoke about her family situation. AASF and a coalition of organizations and individuals wrote a letter to Rahul Shrivastav, Provost of Indiana University (IU) and requested reinstament of Professor Wang. On April 14, 2025, a GoFundMe campaign for Professor Wang was started by his son, Luke Wang, at https://bit.ly/3E70Vfm . Nianli Ma Professor Wang termination reportedly involved an undisclosed research grant from China in 2017-2018. On April 17, 2025, Day of Action for Higher Ed, IU computer science chair Yuzhen Ye said Professor Wang was not even aware of the grant when university officials asked him about it. “So apparently a researcher in China applied for this grant without his knowledge," she said "So (Wang) explained and also he provided a supporting documentation to IU. I truly believe this really could have unfolded in a very different way if IU administration had chosen to trust its own faculty or give them a fair chance to respond,” Professor Ye said. References and Links Southern District of Indiana: In Re: Motion to Uunseal Search Warrants (1:25-mc-00022) 2025/04/18 Herald-Times: Wife, son of cybersecurity professor Xiaofeng Wang make first comments since FBI raid 2025/04/17 Indiana Daily Student: U.S. attorney argues to keep search warrants for Xiaofeng Wang’s home searches sealed 2025/04/17 Indiana Public Media: IU department chair says Wang didn't know about undisclosed Chinese research grant 2025/04/17 Indian Public Media: Protest groups at IU unite for National Day of Action on higher education 2025/04/16 Guardian: The mysterious firing of a Chinese professor has Asian students on edge: ‘Brings chills to our spines’ 2025/04/15 South China Morning Post: ‘It hurts deeply’: Nianli Ma, wife of cyber expert Xiaofeng Wang, speaks up over FBI raids 2025/04/14 WIRED: A Cybersecurity Professor Disappeared Amid an FBI Search. His Family Is ‘Determined to Fight’ 2025/04/12 FAPA: Open Letter to Pamela Whitten, President, Indiana University 2025/04/12 FAPA: Public Statement on the Case of Dr. Xiaofeng Wang 2025/04/02 Indiana Daily Student: Stanford scholar files motion to unseal warrants used to search homes of Xiaofeng Wang 2025/03/31 AAUP IU Bloomington Chapter: Open Letter to Rahul Shrivastav, Provost, Indiana University Return to Table of Contents Previous Item Next Item

Xifeng Wu 吴息凤 Dean and Professor of School of Public Health, Vice President of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Director of the National Institute for Data Science in Health and Medicine, Zhejiang University, China Former Director, Center for Public Health and Translational Genomics, Professor, Department of Epidemiology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) Dr. Xifeng Wu is Dean and Professor of School of Public Health, Vice President of The Second Affiliated Hospital, Director of National Institute for Data Science in Health and Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. She joined Zhejiang University in March 2019.Dr. Wu is also a naturalized U.S. citizen. She was Director, Center for Public Health and Translational Genomics and Professor, Department of Epidemiology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston. Dr. Wu was subjected to multi-year harassment and investigations. She was put on administrative leave for over a year. During that time, she was not allowed to return to her research laboratory, talk to researchers in her research group and after three months all her research grants were reassigned to other researchers. In other words, her research career was put on hold since December 2017, immediately after MDACC turned over 10-years records of 23 researchers over to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and 8 months before MDACC received the letters from the National Institute of Health (NIH) in August 2018.Dr. Wu retired from MDACC in early 2019. Several other Chinese American scientists were also forced to either retire or leave. Dr. Wu is one of many victims of ongoing racial profiling. While she is able to use her expertise to combat COVID-19 in China, her family still lives in Houston. This is a vivid example of how profiling results in U.S. loss of talent, competitiveness, and leadership in today's science and technology when we need them the most. Lessons Learned from Coronavirus Experience in Zhejiang and Hangzhou As the coronavirus crisis is ending in China in March 2020, the U.S. declared a national emergency. Dr. Wu published an article titled " 6 lessons from China's Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou on how countries can prevent and rebound from an epidemic like COVID-19 " in the World Economic Forum on March 12, 2020. It offers valuable lessons the global community including the U.S. could learn at national and local levels. They are Speed and accuracy are the keys to identification and detection Make the right decisions at the right time, the right place, for the right people Big data and information technology are important to avoiding a rebound Evaluate medical resources and response systems. Are we ready for a pandemic? How much stock do we need? Do we have enough health care personnel, and how do we protect them? Implementation of preventive measures in communities, schools, businesses, government offices and homes can influence the trajectory of this epidemic Keep the public well informed 2009 Rogers Award Lauds Wu for Cutting-Edge Research In 2009, MD Anderson published the following report on Dr. Wu receiving the Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence in Research: “The words ‘visionary’ and ‘revolutionary’ have been used to describe the work of Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of epidemiology in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at MD Anderson. “Recipient of the 2008 Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence in Research, Wu has created a molecular epidemiology research program that bridges epidemiology, statistics, laboratory study and clinical research. With a focus on identifying cancer risk factors as well as markers that can predict an individual’s response to treatment, her research is essential in the quest to develop personalized cancer therapies and to improve prevention efforts. “’These models may help clinicians identify patients who are most and least likely to benefit from treatments, as well as those most likely to develop toxic reactions,’ she says. “Wu is the principal investigator on nine epidemiological studies funded by the National Institutes of Health. She is a collaborative investigator on many other NIH-funded grants, including a recent multi-institutional study of bladder cancer, which she directed. “’I see these integrative projects as the best way to translate science into medicine,’ she says. ‘They’re only possible through close teamwork within a large multidisciplinary group of scientists.’ “Though Wu began her medical education in China, she has spent all of her academic career at MD Anderson. She received her medical degree from Shanghai Medical University in 1984 and her Ph.D. in epidemiology from The University of Texas School of Public Health in 1994. She joined MD Anderson in 1995 as an assistant professor and by 2004 was a full professor. She held an Ashbel Smith Professorship from 2006 to 2008. She holds the Betty B. Marcus Chair in Cancer Prevention at MD Anderson and also is on the faculty of The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. “Wu is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in genetic cancer susceptibility markers and germline genetic variations. One of her major interests is pharmacogenetics, a new field that identifies genetic variations that can help determine why some patients respond better than others to therapeutic drugs. “Somehow Wu also finds time to lead a multidisciplinary team of 35 people. “’Mentoring trainees and junior faculty members is a responsibility and a privilege,’ she says. ‘They are the future of science and discovery, and I take great pride in their every success. To me, their success is my success. It is my dream that they will cherish the institution’s core values of caring, integrity and discovery as I do and spread them all over the world when they become independent investigators.’” References and Links Zhejiang University: Xifeng Wu 浙江大学: 吴息凤 2020/05/20 World Affairs Council: The Public Health Response to Covid-19 in Zhejiang Province and Washington State – Virtual Program 2020/03/18 ProPublica: The Trump Administration Drove Him Back to China, Where He Invented a Fast Coronavirus Test 2020/03/18 Chronicle of Higher Education: Hounded Out of U.S., Scientist Invents Fast Coronavirus Test in China 2020/03/12 World Economic Forum: 6 lessons from China's Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou on how countries can prevent and rebound from an epidemic like COVID-19 2019/06/20 South China Morning Post: Creating a climate of fear for Chinese scientists in the US benefits neither Washington nor Beijing 2019/06/17 Next Shark: FBI Accused of Targeting Chinese Americans Trying to Cure Cancer for ‘Spying’ 2019/06/14 Clean Technica: FBI & NIH Demonize Chinese Researchers As Trump-Inspired Paranoia Spreads Across America 2019/06/14 Axios: U.S. targeting Chinese cancer researchers 2019/06/13 Bloomberg Businessweek: The U.S. Is Purging Chinese Cancer Researchers From Top Institutions 2019/04/19 Science: Exclusive: Major U.S. cancer center ousts ‘Asian’ researchers after NIH flags their foreign ties 2016/10/21 Houston Chronicle: Research: Dr. Xifeng Wu 2009 MD Anderson Center: Accolades and achievements Previous Item Next Item

Newsletter - #63 Rallies With Yellow Whistle Continue; Racial Profiling At DOC; Congrats To Krystal! #63 Rallies With Yellow Whistle Continue; Racial Profiling At DOC; Congrats To Krystal! Back View PDF May 30, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter