Newsletter - #249 4/19 C100 Conference/Miami Rally; FISA Vote; Dr. Underwood; Citizenship Question; + #249 4/19 C100 Conference/Miami Rally; FISA Vote; Dr. Underwood; Citizenship Question; + In This Issue #249 · Committee of 100 Conference and Miami Rally on April 19, 2024 · Second Vote on Reauthorization of FISA Coming Up in House? · Dr. Robert Underwood on AANHPISI and Bogus Rhetoric of Espionage · Opposition to Citizenship Question in Future Census - Founding Fathers were "Illegals" · News and Activities for the Communities Committee of 100 Conference and Miami Rally on April 19, 2024 1. Committee of 100 Conference in New York City This session on "The Impact of U.S.-China Tensions on Asian Americans in Government" in the Committee of 100 Conference was inadvertently left out of the previous newsletter. The conference will be held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on April 19, 2024. In an environment where U.S.-China geopolitical tensions continue to escalate, Asian Americans serving in the federal government often find themselves unfairly treated when it comes to postings and assignments. The panel will explore the nuanced potential barriers to career advancement that spin from the tensions with China, the complexities of obtaining security clearances and the uncomfortable scrutiny regarding loyalty that Asian Americans endure due to concerns over foreign influence.Speakers: · Carol Lam , Former United States Attorney, Southern District of California · Chuck Rosenberg , Former United States Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia · Andy Kim , Representative, United States Congress · Jiashen You , PhD, Chief Data Officer, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Moderator: · Paula Madison , Chair & CEO, 88 Madison Media Inc. For more information about the C100 conference and registration: https://bit.ly/4d9giAD 2. Community Rally Against Florida's Anti-Chinese Alien Land Law in Miami On April 19, 2024, a community rally will be held at 99 NE 4th Street, Miami, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will hold a hearing on the Shen vs. Simpson lawsuit. The rally supports overturning Florida's hateful and discriminatory property law known as SB 264, which unconstitutionally bans many Chinese immigrants from buying homes in Florida.The rally is sponsored by · Florida Asian American Justice Alliance (FAAJA) · United Chinese Americans (UCA) · Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA) · League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Florida · Stop AAPI Hate Second Vote on Reauthorization of FISA Coming Up in House? According to the Washington Post , the House reauthorized a part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in a bipartisan vote of 273-147 on Friday, April 12, 2024. The reauthorization window was shortened from five to two years. The post-9/11 provision known as Section 702 of FISA gave U.S. spy agencies the ability to collect without a warrant the communications of noncitizens abroad who are suspected of threatening U.S. national security or whose emails and text messages might provide foreign intelligence. At issue is whether spy agencies can analyze communications by Americans who may have interacted with foreign targets, which privacy advocates on the far right and left say is unconstitutional.An amendment to require a warrant if the FBI wants to analyze Americans’ communications swept up under Section 702 was not adopted because of a tie vote of 212-212.Privacy advocates decried the bill’s passage without a warrant requirement. Elizabeth Goitein , senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program, characterized lawmakers who supported the vote for passage of the bill as “a craven betrayal of the Americans who placed their faith in these members to protect their rights.”Stark opposition from another bipartisan group of lawmakers moved far-right members to compel a motion to reconsider the legislation, forcing the House to vote the following week on defending the measure and stalling its passage to the Senate, which must act before a lapse occurs on April 19, 2024.Read the Washington Post report : https://wapo.st/4aTgp13 . During the APA Justice monthly meeting on April 8, 2024, Joanna YangQing Derman , Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security Program, Advancing Justice | AAJC, reported on the fast pace movement on the FISA Section 702 reauthorization legislation. The second vote in the House, as reported by the Washington Post , may be procedural.On April 14, 2024, the Brennan Center published a one-pager detailing how the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA) authorizes the largest expansion of surveillance on domestic soil since the Patriot Act. According to the one-pager, the administration obtained approval from the FISA Court on April 4 to continue conducting Section 702 surveillance until April of 2025. According to the government itself, that approval will “grandfather” Section 702 surveillance for a year even if Section 702 itself were to lapse. "The Senate must not let a meaningless deadline pressure it into creating a surveillance state," the one-pager said. Dr. Robert Underwood on AANHPISI and Bogus Rhetoric of Espionage Dr. Robert Underwood gave remarks on two topics during the APA Justice monthly meeting on April 8, 2024. He joined the meeting from Guam around 4:00 am Chamorro standard time. It is the only time zone that is named after a people. On January 24, 2000, Congress passed the Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands Standard Time Zone Act. The Act established the Chamorro standard time zone for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The term Chamorro refers to the culture and people of that area. Dr. Underwood is former President of the University of Guam and former Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). He is currently a Member of the President's Advisory Commission AA and NHPI, serving on the data disaggregation and higher education subcommittee. One topic the Commission has been advocating is higher education, particularly the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander serving institutions (AANHPISI). There are almost 200 such institutions across the country. About half of the AANHPI enrollment goes to AANHPISI institutions. Based on FY 2022 appropriations, AANHPISI institutions would receive approximately $75,000.There is a wide variety of minority serving institution programs in almost every federal agency. However, when AANHPISI applies, sometimes the agencies are hesitant because they do not really understand this network, which has been around for a couple of decades. There are calls for advocacy and some actions by federal agencies on this basis. In Guam and the Northern Marianas, one of the issues that has surfaced is the number of undocumented immigrants coming from the Northern Marianas to Guam on boats.The Northern Marianas is also a US territory, but they have a unique agreement where people can come from China without a visa as tourists and stay for 2 weeks. In the past couple years, about 100 to 200 people have rented a boat or get dropped from boats into Guam.According to the Stars and Stripes , there had been 118 unlawful or attempted unlawful entries by Chinese citizens to Guam since 2022 - 85 in 2022, 27 in 2023, and six were reported for the first two months of 2024.Some think tanks and Congressional members have surfaced the narrative that this stream of potential Chinese migrants is coming in to conduct espionage on military facilities in Guam, despite the fact that immigration authorities in Honolulu which oversee Guam and the Marianas have stated repeatedly there is no reason to believe the espionage allegation, Even though there is no basis for the espionage and no one has been charged, everyone starts looking at each other trying to figure out what is going on and looking at the neighbors wondering why the neighbors are here. Dr. Underwood reiterated that the hype of espionage is bogus. There is no truth in it. They are just economic migrants looking for a job and better opportunities.It is very dispiriting and irresponsible to use a little bit of data to create a false impression. Dr. Underwood is working with a think tank called the Pacific Center for Island Security to do its best to bring full understanding to that situation. Dr. Underwood applauds the recent rally and continuing efforts against Florida's state law known as SB 846 that restricts academic exchange and collaborations, including the hiring of graduate students based on their national origin. Dr. Underwood suggests that this is an opportunity to generate community support and understanding across the country. Everything is a new opportunity.A summary for the monthly meeting is being prepared at this time. The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. It is closed to the press. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎 , Vincent Wang 王文奎 , and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org . Opposition to Citizenship Question in Future Census - Founding Fathers were "Illegals" According to the Brennan Center for Justice on April 11, 2024, leading civil rights organizations and good government groups are pressing the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to oppose the Equal Representation Act (H.R. 7109), a bill proposing to add a citizenship question to the 2030 Census and to exclude non-citizens from the national head count used to apportion the House. In a letter to Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the 74 signatories – which include the Brennan Center for Justice – detailed the serious constitutional and practical problems with the bill.As the letter explains, the proposal to exclude noncitizens from the apportionment count violates the Fourteenth Amendment, which requires a count of all persons living in the country. As a result, H.R. 7109 effectively proposes to amend the Constitution through legislation, in violation of the amendment process set forth in Article V.The letter goes on to explain that the bill would threaten the success of future censuses by undermining the Census Bureau’s ability to collect accurate population counts, because including a citizenship question on the census would dissuade non-citizens from being counted.Read the Brennan Center statement: https://bit.ly/3VYmmFM Founding Fathers Were "Illegals" According to Yahoo News , Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) schooled Rep. Gary Palmer after the Alabama Republican claimed that the Founding Fathers “never anticipated” having a mass number of people “illegally” come to America.The comments were made during a House Oversight Committee markup session where lawmakers addressed the Equal Representation Act, which — if passed — would require a citizenship question on the 2030 U.S. census and every census 10 years after that.“There was no immigration law when the Constitution was adopted at all. In fact, the only illegals in the country, at least according to the native population, were the people writing the Constitution,” said Raskin, a Constitution attorney.48 of the 56 signers of the Constitution were born in America when it was a British colony. Of the remaining 8, Two were born in England; two in Ireland; two in Scotland; one in Northern Ireland; and one in Wales.Read the Yahoo News report: https://yhoo.it/3Q2iQX1 News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/04/17 Racially Profiled for Being A Scientist: A Discussion of the US DOJ's China Initiative2024/04/18 Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice2024/04/19 Committee of 100 Annual Conference and Gala2024/04/19 Appeals Court Hearing on Florida SB 2642024/04/19 Community Rally Against Florida's Anti-Chinese Alien Land Law2024/04/30 Understanding Implicit Bias and How to Combat It2024/05/02 AAGEN 2024 Executive Leadership Workshop2024/05/04 Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details.Visit the 2024 Congressional Calendar by Roll Call : https://bit.ly/4aw4iqU 2. Understanding Implicit Bias and How to Combat It WHAT: Understanding Implicit Bias and How to Combat It WHEN: April 30, 2024, 3:00 - 4:15 pm ET WHERE: Virtual event HOST: American Academy of Arts & Sciences INTRODUCTION: David W. Oxtoby, President, American Academy of Arts & Sciences SPEAKERS: · Frank Dobbin, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences; Chair of the Sociology Department, Harvard University · Jennifer L. Eberhardt, William R. Kimball Professor; Professor of Psychology; Cofounder and Codirector, Stanford SPARQ, Stanford University · Camara Phyllis Jones, Leverhulme Visiting Professor in Global Health and Social Medicine, King’s College London · Goodwin Liu, Associate Justice, California Supreme Court DESCRIPTION: Implicit bias is the residue of stereotyped associations and social patterns that are outside our conscious awareness but reinforce inequality in the world. The implications of implicit bias are present in every field, from law enforcement, to courts, education, medicine, and employment. Scientific inquiry has advanced our understanding of implicit bias in recent decades. It has also illuminated the limitations of certain cognitive measures and commonplace interventions, including some forms of diversity or implicit bias training used by corporations, universities, and other organizations. How can we improve our knowledge base on effective strategies to counteract bias and its negative impacts on our nation? What changes to organizational policies, procedures, and decision-making structures have shown promise? And how can technologies be leveraged? REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/4aVrrmi Back View PDF April 15, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

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 - #224 Henry Kissinger; 12/12 Section 702 Briefing; WH Commission/WH Fellows; DETERRENT Act #224 Henry Kissinger; 12/12 Section 702 Briefing; WH Commission/WH Fellows; DETERRENT Act In This Issue #224 · Invited Report: Dr. Kissinger's Passing and the Debate over His One-China Policy · 12/12 Community Briefing on Section 702 of FISA · President's Advisory Commission Renewed; White House Fellows Program Opens · CAPAC Chair Urges Opposition to DETERRENT Act on House Floor · News and Activities for the Communities Invited Report: Dr. Kissinger's Passing and the Debate over His One-China Policy Author: Juan Zhang , Editor, US-China Perception Monitor/ 中美印象, Carter Center, Juan.Zhang@cartercenter.org On November 29, 2023, Dr. Henry Kissinger , former U.S. Secretary of State, passed away at the age of 100. Dr. Kissinger advised 12 U.S. presidents on foreign policy, from President Kennedy to President Biden . The foreign policies he shaped influenced the lives of billions of people worldwide.This is especially true when it comes to China. In the early 1970s, Dr. Kissinger, with a strategic vision and great wisdom, opened the door for China to engage with the United States. China has since changed profoundly. The one-China policy and strategic ambiguity toward cross-strait was at the heart of the China policy that Dr. Kissinger and his aides crafted. This policy has helped maintain peace in East Asia for decades, laying the foundation for the region's prosperity.In light of growing competition in US-China relations, the policy of strategic ambiguity has become a point of tension. China hawks explicitly call for arming and defending Taiwan. Even President Biden has “misspoken” four times in recent months that the U.S. will come to Taiwan’s defense if China uses force. Under those noises, some experts and former diplomats have started to voice their support for policies that will and have maintained cross-strait peace. In a recent in-depth interview with the US-China Perception Monitor of the Carter Center, Ambassador Winston Lord , the close aide who accompanied Dr. Kissinger on visiting China in 1970s, shared his view on this question: The bipartisan Taiwan policy of nine American Presidents is one of the greatest diplomatic achievements in recent history, and "strategic ambiguity" is an essential part of that policy. …… To switch to "strategic clarity" would destroy a half-century of "One China" policy, upend our relationship with Beijing, and give Taiwan leaders the green light to take provocative actions, assuring that we would come to their defense in case of conflict, no matter what the origins.(Read the full piece: https://uscnpm.org/2023/11/30/ambassador-winston-lord/ ) Furthermore, three top-notch experts on China/Taiwan published a joint article on Foreign Affairs . In their piece, Bonnie S. Glaser , Jessica Chen Weiss , and Thomas J. Christensen argue that the United States cannot rely solely on deterrence to China. It should use a combination of assurance and deterrence. While strengthening deterrence, the United States should assure China that it will not support Taiwan's independence. At the same time, China must continue to explore peaceful unification means. Those points reflect fundamental elements of the strategic ambiguity policy that Dr. Kissinger, Ambassador Lord, and others established decades ago. (Read the full piece: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/taiwan/taiwan-china-true-sources-deterrence ) Community Briefing on Section 702 of FISA WHAT: Webinar - Community Briefing on Section 702 of FISA: Sweeping Reforms to Warrantless Surveillance Initiative WHEN: December 12, 2023, 2-3 pm ET/11-12 noon PT HOSTS: Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), Advancing Justice | AAJC, APA Justice, Brennan Center for Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) MODERATOR: Eri Andriola , Associate Director of Policy & Litigation, AASF SPEAKERS: · Noah Chauvin, Counsel, Liberty & National Security, Brennan Center for Justice · Joanna YangQing Derman, Director of Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights, and National Security, Advancing Justice | AAJC · Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, AASF · Andy Wong, Managing Director of Advocacy, CAA DESCRIPTION: The briefing will feature civil rights, national security, and policy experts, who will break down what Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is and how it impacts Asian American communities. Panelists will discuss the key reform bills at play, including the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA) and the Protecting Liberty and Ending Warrantless Surveillance Act (PLEWSA), and how the Asian American community and advocates can get involved on this issue. REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/41ejxkG Breaking News: NBC News reported on December 6, 2023, that lawmakers have reached an agreement to temporarily extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The agreement to reauthorize FISA through April 2024 is part of bipartisan and bicameral negotiations over a path forward for the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/3Nho4Nv Earlier on December 5, 2023, a post on X, previously Tweeter, by Punchbowl News reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson nixed (more permanent) reauthorization of Section 702 in the NDAA. Read the X post: https://bit.ly/47Mdvdj President's Advisory Commission Renewed; White House Fellows Program Opens On September 29, 2023, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14109 to renew the President's Advisory Commission through September 2025. The action also amends Executive Order 14031 to provide commissioners with new authorities to more effectively communicate their work with the public. Established in May 2021, and co-chaired by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai , the 25-member Commission of AA and NHPI leaders advises the President on ways the public, private and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities. Read the White House announcement: https://bit.ly/3T8P2un White House Fellows Program Opens Applications for the Class of 2024-2025 White House Fellows Program is now open through 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 5, 2024. You can apply here now: https://bit.ly/3OGlwb1 . Individual registration is required. On December 7, 2023, starting at 8 pm ET, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) will host an online event for the public to learn how to apply, explore selection criteria, and ask for advice directly from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander alumni panelists. Register for "An Introduction to the White House Fellows Program" here: https://bit.ly/3RbsAxZ Meet The AANHPI Team at The White House From left to right: · Krystal Ka‘ai , Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders · Neera Tanden , Senior Advisor to the President and White House Staff Secretary · Erika L. Moritsugu , Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison · Philip Kim , Senior Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement They were introduced by Hannah Y. Kim , Asia-Pacific policy adviser to the White House Chief of Staff, in a video celebrating the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month during the APA Justice monthly meeting on May 1, 2023. A summary for the monthly meeting has been posted at https://bit.ly/3RwbRa0 . Other speakers at the meeting were · Nisha Ramachandran, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, nisha.ramachandran@mail.house.gov · John Yang 杨重远, President and Executive Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC · Gisela Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), gpkusakawa@aasforum.org · Brenna Isman , Director of Academy Studies, National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) · Paula Williams Madison, Former Print and TV Journalist, Retired NBCUniversal executive CAPAC Chair Urges Opposition to DETERRENT Act on House Floor According to a press release by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) on December 6, 2023, CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) took to the House Floor to urge her colleagues to vote in opposition to H.R. 5933 , the DETERRENT Act.Her remarks as delivered:“As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I rise in strong opposition to the DETERRENT Act.“The DETERRENT Act would burden higher education institutions and federal agencies by needlessly complicating existing research security measures. Further, the bill would impose unreasonably expansive reporting requirements on individual researchers. What is worst is that it would broadcast their personal information on public databases, therefore casting a chilling effect disproportionately on the Asian American academic community.“From the incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II to racial profiling of Chinese American scientists under the failed China Initiative, countless Asian Americans have had their lives destroyed because our government falsely accused them of being spies. Already, seventy two percent of Asian American academic researchers report feeling unsafe. “Safeguarding national security can be done through commonsense reforms that Democrats have offered that don’t come at the expense of U.S. scientific innovation, global collaboration, and the Asian American community. In fact, Congressmember Bobby Scott has submitted such an amendment that is a commonsense reform. In the meanwhile, this bill, the DETERRENT Act, is a bill that I urge all my colleagues to vote no on.” News and Activities for the Communities APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2023/12/06 1882 Foundation Lecture and Reception: We are Americans 2023/12/07 An Introduction to The White House Fellows Program2023/12/10 Rep. Gene Wu 's Weekly town hall meeting 2023/12/12 Community Briefing on Section 702 of FISA2023/12/17 Rep. Gene Wu 's Weekly town hall meeting Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. Back View PDF December 7, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #189: Registrations Open! Xiaoxing Xi; Hoover: A Fresh Start From What? Alien Land Bills; More #189: Registrations Open! Xiaoxing Xi; Hoover: A Fresh Start From What? Alien Land Bills; More In This Issue #189 Register Now: June 26 Webinar on Stop Warrantless Surveillance Register Now: July 6 President's Advisory Commission on AAPI Public Meeting Eight Years After False Accusation, Xiaoxing Xi Can Sue FBI Hoover Institution Webinar: A Fresh Start from What? Latest on Discriminatory Alien Land Bills News and Activities for the Communities Register Now: June 26 Webinar on Stop Warrantless Surveillance The Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), APA Justice, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Committee of 100 will co-host a webinar on "Stop Warrantless Surveillance: The Danger of Reauthorizing Section 702 of FISA". WHEN: June 26, 2023, 4:00 pm ET/1:00 pm PT WHAT: The U.S. Constitution protects its people against unreasonable searches and seizures. However, under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the U.S. government engages in mass, warrantless surveillance of phone calls, text messages, emails, and other electronic communications between Americans and foreigners. Information collected under this law without a warrant can be used to prosecute and imprison people, even for crimes that have nothing to do with national security. Asian Americans, especially Chinese Americans and the immigrant and scientific communities, have been targeted for warrantless surveillance that led to wrongful and unjust prosecutions. They include Temple University Professor Xiaoxing Xi 郗小星 and possibly New York Police Department Officer Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 . The current authorization of Section 702 will expire on December 31, 2023. What should the Asian American and immigrant communities know about Section 702? If it is not sunset, what reforms will be needed? What are the next steps for the communities? WHO: Keynote speaker. Rep. Pramila Jayapal , the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; a member of the House Judiciary Committee; Ranking Member of House Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security and Enforcement Panelist. Gang Chen 陈刚 . Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering, MIT; Member, National Academy of Sciences; prosecuted under "China Initiative" with case dismissed; "We Are All Gang Chen" Panelist. Elizabeth Goitein. Senior Director, Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice Panelist. Ashley Gorski . Senior Staff Attorney, National Security Project, American Civil Liberties Union Panelist. Brian A. Sun 孙自华 . Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright; Board Member, Committee of 100 Moderator. Lillian Sing 郭丽莲 . Judge (retired), California Superior Court; first Asian American woman judge in Northern California REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/42AbNIF 1. Cato Institute Policy Forum on Section 702 of FISA According to a Cato Institute online policy forum on June 6, 2023, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will expire on New Year’s Eve 2023 absent congressional action to renew it. This controversial surveillance power was enacted in 2008 following over two years of debate in Congress after its secret, illegal predecessor— the National Security Agency’s Stellar Wind mass electronic surveillance program—was exposed by the New York Times in December 2005. Since that time, Section 702 has been renewed twice—once under President Obama and again under President Trump . And it has been renewed despite repeated, serious violations of the law by the FBI via so‐called “back door” searches—literally millions of Section 702 database queries by FBI personnel for information on U.S. persons not necessarily wanted for a crime. 2. Washington Post Report on Section 702 of FISA According to the Washington Post on June 13, 2023, Congress will not renew powerful, expiring surveillance authorities without substantial changes to shield Americans from warrantless eavesdropping, senators in both parties warned Biden administration officials in a Senate Judiciary Committee on June 13, 2023. “I will only support the reauthorization of Section 702 if there are significant, significant reforms,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). “And that means first and foremost, addressing the warrantless surveillance of Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Moreover, the reforms must also include safeguards to prevent future abuses and ensure effective oversight by Congress and the courts.” The top Republican on the committee, Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), said that in the United States broadly, “there’s a warrant requirement to investigate an American citizen for wrongdoing. And we don’t want this to be used to get around that requirement. So bottom line is, let’s reauthorize this program and build in some safeguards.” “Why should we ever trust the FBI and DOJ again to police themselves under FISA when they’ve shown us repeatedly over more than a decade that they cannot be trusted to do so?” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said. Register Now: July 6 President's Advisory Commission on AANHPI Public Meeting The President's Advisory Commission on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) will hold its next meeting, the sixth of a series, on July 6, 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The meeting serves to continue the development of recommendations to promote equity, justice, and opportunity for the AANHPI communities. It is open to the public and will be live streamed. The Commission seeks written comments that may be emailed to AANHPICommission@hhs.gov at any time. Individuals may also submit a request to provide oral public comments.For details, directions, and registration, visit: https://bit.ly/3NqpQMB Dr . Robert Underwood , a Commissioner, Former Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and President Emeritus of the University of Guam, described the role and purpose of the Commission and his experiences with racial profiling as CAPAC Chair and President of University of Guam at the April APA Justice monthly meeting. Robert reminded us that the Commission is the vehicle through which all of us can participate and make our input known to the President. The Commission has committees to address various topics, but social justice issues such as racial profiling, discriminatory alien land laws, warrantless surveillance, and open science are not on the radar screen of the Commission. APA Justice encourages organizations and individuals to write to the Commission and speak at the public hearing on July 6. Robert also urges all of us to feel free to communicate with him directly at anacletus2010@gmail.com .The current Commission will expire later this year. An executive order will be needed to continue the work of the Commission, which unlike other similar commissions, does not have a permanent staff.Read Robert's remarks: https://bit.ly/3qogBU1 . Watch his remarks at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnIrq1hfl4A (video 11:48 to 25:21) Eight Years After False Accusation, Xiaoxing Xi Can Sue FBI According to the Washington Post on June 6, 2023, Xiaoxing Xi 郗小星 earned his PhD in Beijing, but he built his career in the United States. He arrived in the country in 1989 and worked at several colleges in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania before arriving at Temple University. By 2015, the physics professor was a respected expert in a cutting-edge field and, as interim head of the physics department, was on the cusp of a big promotion.So he was stunned to find a team of FBI agents at his Philadelphia home on an early morning in May that year. They arrested him in his pajamas at gunpoint as his family looked on in alarm. “I opened my door,” Xi recalled in an interview. “I realized all my life, everything I have done, is gone.” The Justice Department alleged Xi, a physicist and a naturalized U.S. citizen, had delivered confidential technology to China “to assist Chinese entities in becoming world leaders” in the field — an accusation that essentially cast him as a “technological spy.” He was interrogated and strip-searched. But the case ended in farce four months later after experts asserted that the government had misunderstood the science behind Xi’s work.Xi’s case was dismissed in September of that year, but he said the accusations cost him a senior position in Temple University’s physics department and cast a pall over his research and his family’s life.In 2017, Xi sued the U.S. government and leaders of the FBI, Justice Department and National Security Agency for what he alleged to be a willfully negligent prosecution clouded by bias over his Chinese ethnicity. But it languished for years and was later dismissed in federal court. Xi appealed the ruling in 2021.His lawsuit can now proceed, an appeals court ruled late last month, allowing Xi to continue his longtime quest to tell of his experience in court and join several other researchers of Chinese descent who have faced similar accusations.Xi’s lawsuit also alleged that investigators used powerful surveillance techniques to tap the professor’s phone and email communications without a proper warrant under Section 702 of FISA . As Xi’s appeal was pending, several other scientists of Chinese descent across the United States navigated parallel challenges. MIT Professor Gang Chen 陈刚 had similar charges against him dropped in January 2022 — and later that year made a major discovery in semiconductor research. Sherry Chen 陈霞芬 , a former hydrologist at the National Weather Service, won over $1.5 million from the government in November after challenging a 2014 Commerce Department investigation that accused her of espionage.On May 24, 2023, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Xi’s case had been wrongly dismissed. The case will return to district court around August.“Now we’ll put the government under oath to explain what they did,” Xi said.Read the Washington Post report: https://wapo.st/42r0sdP Professor Xi was interviewed by Sharyl Attkisson in Full Measure on June 4, 2023. Read the transcript and watch the video at https://bit.ly/3P6hCdJ (video 5:13). Hoover Institution Webinar: A Fresh Start from What? According to the Stanford Daily on June 8, 2023, the Hoover Institution hosted a discussion on the importance of promoting a sense of belonging for Chinese-Americans. The panel, titled “A Fresh Start: Safeguarding People, Rights, and Research Amid US-China Competition” brought attention to the worries Chinese academics have over being profiled for espionage or fraud-related charges regarding possible affiliations with China’s government. Larry Diamond , a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, moderated the panel with Gisela Perez Kusukawa , founding executive director of the Asian American Scholar Forum, Ambassador Gary Locke , former U.S. Ambassador to China (2011-2014), and Glenn Tiffert , research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Locke, who is also the chair of the non-profit Committee of 100 (C100), opened the event by acknowledging the rivalry between the two nations across various industries. He highlighted the “need to understand that our dispute and contention with Beijing is with the government of China and not the people of China, and certainly not Chinese Americans.” Locke said [they] believe the contributions of Chinese Americans often go unnoticed, a further reflection of the invisibilizing of Asian Americans.Kusukawa added that the treatment of Chinese-American academics is part of a broader historical pattern of anti-Asian rhetoric in America, resulting in the scapegoating of Asian Americans when the U.S. experiences tensions with an Asian country. “Since 1985, it has been U.S. policy that basic and applied research in science and engineering is basically unrestricted by the government,” Locke said. Much of the racial profiling Locke referred to can be seen in the "China Initiative" that was launched by the Department of Justice, according to Kusakawa. The initiative was intended to “protect US laboratories and businesses from espionage,” but many academics and civil liberties groups claimed that the program was biased against researchers of Chinese descent. Chinese-American scholars and scientists were falsely implicated during the Trump-era initiative, reporting disastrous effects on their personal livelihoods because of the profiling. The initiative was terminated in February of last year after outcry was raised over how the initiative’s rhetoric further encouraged Sinophobic sentiment. If we are to recognize the existing anti-Asian bias in America, “we need to start thinking [about] what are the due processes in place to protect Asian-Americans” Kusakawa said.Kusakawa acknowledged the difficulties a university or faculty member faces when critiquing or challenging policies that reflect a power imbalance between federal agencies and those in academia. She encouraged making the process of filing a complaint or reporting racial bias a less intimidating experience and focusing on creating a better environment for foreign scholars. “If we change how we approach research, are we genuinely going to become more competitive?” Kusakawa said. “We don’t think that Asian-Americans and Chinese-Americans and immigrants should continue to be collateral damage as we try to fix our policies in our country in addressing U.S. China relationships.” The webinar neglected to mention a Hoover Institution report that was issued alongside the launch of the "China Initiative" in November 2018. After appeals and protests by many Asian Americans organizations and individuals including C100 members, one noticeable change was made to replace the word "Chinese" by "China's" in the original title of the report "Chinese Influence and American Interests." Chapter 3 of the 2018 report (pages 39-50) covered "The Chinese American Community." On C100, the 2018 report (page 226) said "The Chinese embassy also targets prominent Chinese Americans through the Committee of 100, an organization of the most elite Chinese Americans in the United States. Committee members report significant pressure from the Chinese consulate on committee members to toe the Party line. Some prominent committee members are openly sympathetic to the goals of the Chinese Communist Party. One of them is ..." The following question was raised online during the June 6 webinar but not addressed by the moderator and speakers: "Does the Hoover Institution have any regret in publishing its report titled China's Influence and American Interest, which coincide[d] with the launch of the "China Initiative" in 2018, promoting the report heavily with Congress and media, and causing irreparable damage to many Chinese Americans and Asian Americans and eroding the civil rights and civil liberties for the communities? Otherwise, what are we restarting from?"On June 14, 2023, Larry Diamond replied: "We are not going to apologize for producing the report. It was a necessary and valid call to action in countering PRC malign influence activities in the United States and other democracies. We called for a balanced approach of 'constructive vigilance.' "We believe that as a democracy, we can and must defend both the integrity of our institutions and the rights and dignity of an important segment of American society. "We have always agreed that it is unacceptable to make unsubstantiated charges against people of Chinese ethnicity or fan generalized suspicions about a vital part of the American national mosaic. You may recall that the 2018 report you reference declared: 'we must guard against having this report used unfairly to cast aspersions on Chinese, whether Chinese American immigrants who have become (or are becoming) United States citizens, Chinese students, Chinese businesspeople, or other kinds of Chinese visitors, whose contributions to America’s progress over the past century have been enormous.' (p. 219) "We are not government officials and are not responsible for excesses or lack of balance and care in US government conduct. Likewise, we are not responsible for excesses or lack of balance and care in the wider public discussion and are disheartened by it. Our June 6th event with the Committee of 100 and the Asian American Scholar Forum aimed to model a more responsible approach. "Dialogue with the AAPI community is integral to the work that we do, and we remain committed to it."When fuel is put on fire, it cannot be just the responsibility of those who started the fire. There was one dissenter among the group of "China policy specialists" in the 2018 Hoover report. University of California San Diego Professor Susan Shirk wrote (page 217) at that time:"Although I have no problem with the factual research that has gone into specific chapters of the report, I respectfully dissent from what I see as the report’s overall inflated assessment of the current threat of Chinese influence seeking on the United States. The report discusses a very broad range of Chinese activities, only some of which constitute coercive, covert, or corrupt interference in American society and none of which actually undermines our democratic political institutions. Not distinguishing the legitimate from the illegitimate activities detracts from the credibility of the report. The cumulative effect of this expansive inventory that blurs together legitimate with illegitimate activities is to overstate the threat that China today poses to the American way of life. Especially during this moment in American political history, overstating the threat of subversion from China risks causing overreactions reminiscent of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, including an anti-Chinese version of the Red Scare that would put all ethnic Chinese under a cloud of suspicion. Right now, I believe the harm we could cause our society by our own overreactions actually is greater than that caused by Chinese influence seeking. That is why I feel I must dissent from the overall threat assessment of the report." Latest on Discriminatory Alien Land Bills 1. APA Justice Updates Its Tracking of State Alien Land Bills and Laws APA Justice updated its tracking map and table on June 8, 2023: https://bit.ly/43oJ0YI .According to LegiScan, Governor Kevin Stitt signed Oklahoma Senate Bill 212 into state law on June 6, 2023. This was also reported by KFOR-News4 on June 7, 2023. The bill will stop non-U.S. citizens including legal residents from buying land in Oklahoma. It becomes effective on November 1, 2023. 2. Louisiana House Bill 537 and Tulane University Statement According to LegiScan, the Louisiana House passed House Bill 537 by a vote of 73-26 on June 6, 2023. The bill was sent to Governor John Bel Edwards for approval on June 7.Tulane University President Michael A. Fitts and Provost Robin Forman issued the following statement:"We are deeply concerned by the potential impacts on the Tulane community of several bills under consideration in the Louisiana Legislature targeting land ownership by non-US citizens. We continue to share our concerns with legislators. These bills have made many of our faculty and students uncertain and anxious about their futures in our state, and we share those concerns. Universities thrive on their ability to foster a welcoming and safe community where we can recruit and retain the best and the brightest faculty, staff, and students from around the world to learn, research, and work together to solve our most pressing challenges. "Our international community plays a crucial role in the research and innovation ecosystem of our city and state. These international scholars and students have contributed greatly to the extraordinary success Tulane has experienced in research and in helping to increase economic growth in our region. It is essential that we recognize and appreciate their contributions to our state, our universities, and our neighborhoods."On June 7, 2023, NOLA.com also reported on " Bill targeting foreign land ownership approved by Legislature after tweaks ." 3. Florida’s Ban on Chinese Landownership Is a Racist Throwback According to an opinion by Shan Wu published by the Daily Beast on June 6, 2023, the reality of the Florida land law—and other laws like it in states including Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama—are throwbacks to the racist “Alien Land Laws” from the 19th and early 20th century that barred Asians from owning land.Lesser-known than the redlining and racist zoning laws that kept Blacks and other minorities from buying homes in predominantly white neighborhoods, these laws sought to stop Chinese and Japanese people from purchasing and even leasing land primarily in the American West. For example, the 1859 Oregon constitution barred any “Chinaman” from buying property, and the 1879 California constitution was amended to specifically target Asians by only allowing aliens to buy land if they were of “the white race or African descent.” Like today’s politicians, the leaders of that era stoked racist fears in order to eliminate perceived economic competition from Asians by outright banning them from immigration—the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act—and through Alien Land laws. The Chinese Exclusion Act was not repealed until 1943 against the backdrop of the United States allying with China in World War II. It was not until 1948 that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an Alien Land law as unconstitutional in Oyama v. California . Even after that decision, however, many states did not repeal the laws until decades later. Florida finally got around to repealing its Alien Land law in 2021, only to have [Governor Ron ] DeSantis replace it with a new one.The federal government already scrutinizes foreign transactions, including real estate purchases, that may jeopardize national security through the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The interagency coordination includes the Department of Defense as well as the intelligence community. The federal government—not Florida—is tasked with our national security, the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution likely preempts Florida’s ability to play in this arena. The Florida law also would appear to violate the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process clauses of the Constitution. And there is also the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits making housing unavailable on the basis of among other things: national origin.Then there’s the economic and financial detriment DeSantis would be causing to his own state if the law is successfully implemented. The history of scapegoating Asian competition in America is intrinsically intertwined with racist violence. In the 19th century such fears led to lynchings of Chinese workers like the 1885 massacres of Chinese miners at Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin , who was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Detroit by white men who saw him as the embodiment of Japanese auto-industry competition—never mind that Chin happened to be Chinese not Japanese.May was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, during which the contributions of Asians in America were celebrated. Now is a great time to ask ourselves what does the future hold, when so many of our political leaders long for a return to a racially violent past.Read the Daily Beast opinion: https://bit.ly/43OO60g News and Activities for the Communities 1. US Supreme Court Backs Alabama Black Voters, Bolsters Civil Rights Law According to Reuters on June 8, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court handed a major victory to Black voters who challenged a Republican-drawn electoral map in Alabama, finding the state violated a landmark law prohibiting racial discrimination in voting and paving the way for a second congressional district with a Black majority or close to it.Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) issued the following statement : “Today’s decision is a victory for the communities of color and advocates that challenged discriminatory political maps in Alabama, but it’s also a victory for the American people because the Voting Rights Act remains alive despite recent Supreme Court assaults on it. It’s a relief that this far-right Supreme Court—contrary to many recent decisions—respected the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and its own precedent to come to the correct conclusion today. Our democracy is at its best when all of us can be represented in Congress, and today’s decision ensures that Black voters’ power in Alabama and across the South is not diluted and erased. CAPAC will continue to work with our Tri-Caucus partners to protect and strengthen the voting rights of all communities of color.” 2. Congressional Research Service Director Resigns According to Roll Call and Bloomberg Government , Congressional Research Service Director Mary B. Mazanec is stepping down effective June 30 amid persistent complaints about leadership within Congress’ public policy research institute. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Mazanec’s planned departure internally, and the House Administration Committee confirmed her resignation. The news comes after reports of high turnover, low morale and lagging diversity within the legislative support agency. On May 3, 2023, the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers sent the results of the Congressional Research Service 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to Hayden. 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 June 15, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #248 FISA Renewal Goes Down; C100 Conference; SB 264 Rally in Miami; Kurt Campbell; AAASE #248 FISA Renewal Goes Down; C100 Conference; SB 264 Rally in Miami; Kurt Campbell; AAASE In This Issue #248 • House Strikes Down FISA Renewal Measure • Update on Committee of 100 Conference • China Town Hall with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell • Justice in Property Rights Rally in Miami • Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering • News and Activities for the Communities House Strikes Down FISA Renewal Measure According to multiple media reports, by a vote of 193 to 228, the House of Representatives voted against a procedural measure that would have begun debate to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The bill, titled the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), would reauthorize Section 702 of FISA for five years and aims to impose a series of reforms. The law as it stands allows the US intelligence community to collect the communications records of foreign persons based overseas, but it also allows the FBI to search the data it collects for Americans’ information in what critics have called a “backdoor” search. The current FISA tool allows the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign nationals, without needing to obtain a warrant, with a higher bar for targeted American citizens. The new House Republican bill calls for a number of reforms but does not go far enough in the eyes of privacy and civil liberties advocates, on both the right and left. The searches of US persons’ information are governed by a set of internal rules and procedures designed to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, but critics say that loopholes allow the FBI to search the data it collects for Americans’ information — as opposed to from foreign adversaries — without proper justification. The complicated politics surrounding the law have united strange bedfellows: Some conservative Republicans have joined forces with progressive Democrats to push for reforms to the authority, while security-focused Democrats and Republicans have opposed major new restrictions. One major sticking point is whether the FBI should be required to obtain a warrant before querying the database for information on US citizens. Latest development may involve a shorter reauthorization period of 2 years instead of 5 years. Current authorization of Section 702 will expire on April 19, 2024. Read these media reports: AP News: https://bit.ly/3UeNFuh ; CNN: https://cnn.it/3JfQzc0 ; Voice of America: https://bit.ly/3TXNTV6 ; CBS News: https://cbsn.ws/4avJzDD ; Fox News: https://fxn.ws/4cQWAJF ; ABC News: https://bit.ly/3Udp4G9 ; NBC News: https://nbcnews.to/3Q1Bmil During the APA Justice monthly meeting on April 8, 2024, Nisha Ramachandran, Executive Director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, reported a flurry of activities related to the reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA. Multiple bills and amendments were floated. There was not a lot of clarity. It has already happened twice that a bill to reform warrantless surveillance was pulled before it could pass the Rules Committee. Without knowing the specifics, CAPAC has not taken a position on RISAA at that time. A summary for the April 8 meeting is being prepared at this time. The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. It is closed to the press. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎, Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org . According to ACLU, in May 2015, FBI agents came into Temple University Professor Xiaoxing Xi’s house with guns drawn and led him away in handcuffs in front of his wife and daughters. The government accused Xi of sharing information about a superconductor device known as a “pocket heater,” relying on email exchanges between Xi and scientific colleagues in China that the FBI had obtained. Professor Xi is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China. The intercepted emails, however, were not about the pocket heater, but concerned a different kind of superconductor technology that has been public for years. In September 2015, prosecutors were forced to drop the charges. But the damage to Xi and his family was already significant. As a result of the charges, Xi was placed on administrative leave, suspended from his position as the interim chair of the Temple Physics Department, denied access to his lab and the graduate students working under his supervision, and had to pay substantial legal fees to defend himself. The government spied on Xi using orders issued under FISA, which is intended for spying on foreign agents. As the complaint alleges, he was also spied on without any court order under Section 702 of FISA and Executive Order 12333, both of which are used by the government to conduct warrantless surveillance of international communications, including those of Americans. The government has reportedly engaged in extensive warrantless surveillance of Chinese universities and scientific research centers. It has siphoned communications off servers, computers, and major internet networks that connect many of China’s most prestigious academic institutions. The ACLU represents Professor Xi, who is suing the government over its dismissed prosecution. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, challenges the FBI’s baseless arrest of Xi and its surveillance methods as well as its discriminatory targeting of Chinese American scientists. Read the ACLU summary of Professor Xi's case: https://bit.ly/3GlCCqS Update on Committee of 100 Conference During the APA Justice monthly meeting on April 8, 2024, Cindy Tsai, Interim President of the Committee of 100 reported on the upcoming C100 annual conference to be held at Marriot Marquis in New York City on April 19. There will be a double track with over a dozen sessions on AAPI domestic issues and US-China relations. Cindy highlighted four sessions of the conference: 1. Bringing AAPI history and stories such as the alien land laws into K-12 education and classrooms, 2. Community response to rising anti-Asian hostility as a group and direct services since it is difficult to predict when to stand up for your rights, 3. U.S. national defense policies have impacted researchers and academics as well as technology such as AI. What does foreign influence really mean? What is appropriate response without discriminating certain groups? 4. Impact of US-China tension on Asian Americans in government. While we encourage Asian Americans to have representation, become politically engaged, and work for the government, there are glass ceiling, security clearance, lack of assignment, and similar deterrents. Visit the conference website at: https://bit.ly/4ccKQkj . Contact Cindy at ctsai@committee100.org if you have interest about the C100 conference, including any questions and topics that should be brought to these sessions. China Town Hall with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell On April 9, 2024, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations hosted the 18th annual China Town Hall from over 70 venues including Shanghai, China. The first part of this year's China Town Hall featured a live interview by NCUSCR President Stephen A. Orlins with U.S. Deputy Secretary of States Kurt Campbell, who was confirmed and sworn into office in February 2024. During the town hall, Dr. Hua Wang, Co-Chair of the New England Chinese American Alliance, raised a question, "as a community organization, we are concerned about increasing suspicion of the loyalty and integrity of Chinese Americans such as the China initiative. Such suspicions not only hurt the racial minority, we all know about the Japanese American internment, but also tear apart the fabric of American society such as during the McCarthy era. So how to protect the equal rights of the Chinese Americans and avoid stereotyping Chinese culture and people while managing the complex US-China relations?" Watch Deputy Secretary Campbell's response and the rest of the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypg6X4bC8MQ (1:10:05) Justice in Property Rights Rally in Miami WHAT: Justice in Property Rights Rally WHEN: April 19, 2024, 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm Eastern Time WHERE: In-person event, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, 99 NE 4th ST, Miami, FL 33132 HOSTS: FAAJA, UCA, ACLU, AALDEF, Stop Asian Hate DESCRIPTION: April 19 will be a decisive day as we face a crucial appellate hearing aimed at challenging SB 264, which targets the Chinese community. This bill has sparked widespread concern and opposition as it unfairly targets the Chinese, threatening the rights and freedoms of our community members. This is a call for all who care about justice and equality to stand up and collectively oppose this discriminatory legislation. LINK: https://bit.ly/3VW6SlO Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE) During the APA Justice monthly meeting on March 4, 2024, Columbia University Professor X. Edward Guo, introduced the Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE) and described its mission and activities. AAASE is a relatively new organization. It is 2 years old. Princeton University Professor Yiguang Ju was the Founding President. Professor Guo is the second President. The mission of AAASE is to focus on the next generation of leaders in the STEM field, promote Asian American team leadership in STEM, and also work with the broad Asian American community. Professor Guo announced that AAASE will host two summer academies for high school students interested in science and engineering in 2024. One will be a day camp at Princeton University, and the other a resident camp at Stanford University. The summer camps are one-week long. The students will also promote Asian American leadership contributions in science and technology. The AAASE also plans to honor 100 top leaders as Academy Fellows. AAASE has selected 23 fellows in 2024. They are going to be inducted at the National Academy Science Conference in Irvine, California, on November 15-17. The AAASE has also engaged with the Committee of 100 on its upcoming conference on April 19 and will hold its annual Board of Directors retreat at Columbia University on April 21. Professor Guo is pleased and proud to work with this community. Contact AAASE at aaase.org@gmail.com for additional information. Visit the AAASE website at https://www.aaase.org/ . News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/04/17 Racially Profiled for Being A Scientist: A Discussion of the US DOJ's China Initiative 2024/04/18 Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice 2024/04/19 Committee of 100 Annual Conference and Gala 2024/04/19 Appeals Court Hearing on Florida SB 264 2024/04/19 Justice in Property Rights Rally 2024/05/02 AAGEN 2024 Executive Leadership Workshop 2024/05/04 Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice 2024/05/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. White House Celebration of AANHPI: Lasting Legacies WHAT: White House Celebration of AANHPI: Lasting Legacies WHEN: May 13, 2024, 1:00 - 5:00 pm Eastern Time WHERE: In-person event, The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. HOST: White House and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) DESCRIPTION: This landmark event in the heart of our nation’s capital will commemorate 25 years since the creation of the White House Initiative and the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. For the first time, current and former leaders spanning five presidential administrations will gather to honor this historic milestone and reflect on the progress AA and NHPI communities have achieved over the past 25 years. This event is open to the public. Individual registration is required to attend in-person. Please share this invitation with your networks. REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3TX1IDg Back View PDF April 12, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #30 More On 12/02 Webinar; Presidential Transition; Happy Thanksgiving #30 More On 12/02 Webinar; Presidential Transition; Happy Thanksgiving Back View PDF November 23, 2020 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #24 New Cold War On Research; Culture Of Silence; Data And Research Needs; 2020 Census #24 New Cold War On Research; Culture Of Silence; Data And Research Needs; 2020 Census Back View PDF October 23, 2020 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #118 CAPAC Meets President; Senator Wicker on DOC; Letter to Olsen; Editorials; Anming Hu #118 CAPAC Meets President; Senator Wicker on DOC; Letter to Olsen; Editorials; Anming Hu Back View PDF March 8, 2022 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #153 APA Justice Comments; 11/07 Meeting; National Law Journal; Chemistry World; AAAS #153 APA Justice Comments; 11/07 Meeting; National Law Journal; Chemistry World; AAAS Back View PDF November 1, 2022 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #241 C100 Activities; Florida SB 264 Hearing; AANHPI Education Summit; Officer Angwang; + #241 C100 Activities; Florida SB 264 Hearing; AANHPI Education Summit; Officer Angwang; + In This Issue #241 · Committee of 100 Activities and Annual Conference/Gala · Appeals Court Hearing on Florida Alien Land Law SB264 · 2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit · Update on NYPD Officer Angwang · News and Activities for the Communities Committee of 100 Activities and Annual Conference/Gala During the APA Justice monthly meeting on March 4, 2024, Cindy Tsai , Interim President and Executive Director, Committee of 100 (C100), reported on four primary C100 activities in addition to various ongoing collaborative activities with Asian American and other communities: · Interactive Map on Alien Land Bills. C100 has been tracking all the 2023 bills by state at https://bit.ly/3Hxta4B . It is currently in the process of creating another layer for the 2024 legislative session. With the basic structure in place, it is a matter of visualizing the data in an interactive map. Cindy emphasizes that while the national organizations are keeping an eye on these developments, it truly is those who are on the ground that will hear about it first. So as you hear about things that are coming out of your state, please share and verify with C100, which will in turn share it with the communities. C100 researcher Sam Collitt can be reached at scollitt@Committee100.org . · AAPI History and K-12 Curricula. C100 has in the last 2 years tracked and updated state-by-state analysis state bills that are available tools for the AAPI community to use as they advocate for AAPI education in schools. You do not need to have a stand-alone AAPI curriculum mandate to advocate to your school district for that type of education curriculum. Additionally, C100 converted its 2018 report on t he contributions of Chinese Americans into 5 middle school lesson plans. C100 is organizing teacher workshops over the summer. If you have interest in this area, please reach out to Cindy. C100 would love to provide these free materials to educators. · Next Generation Leaders Service Project. On March 6, C100 hosted a virtual webinar titled Breaking Career Ceilings and Feeling Comfortable in Your Own Skin. It was led by the C100 Next Generation Leaders Class of 2023. As a community, some of our parents taught us to keep our head down and assimilate. We are now seeing a new generation of people saying: I want to be the authentic me and still achieve and break the glass ceiling. · 2024 Annual Conference and Gala. The C100 annual conference and gala will be held in New York City on April 19, 2024. This year, C100 is doubling the number of curated sessions with three general sessions and two concurrent tracks — one on U.S.-China related topics and the other on key domestic AAPI issues —and will include more than 50 guest speakers, panelists and keynotes. The event will be topped off with a black-tie Gala celebrating the achievements and accomplishments from those in and around the AAPI community. For more information and registration, visit https://bit.ly/4ccKQkj Cindy can be reached at ctsai@committee100.org . A summary of the March 4 APA Justice monthly meeting is in progress. General Session · Debate: Will and Should Corporate DEI Activities Suffer the Same Fate as Affirmative Action? · The 2024 Elections and Their Impact on Asian Americans · Charting New Paths: Innovative Solutions to Asian American Issues Asian American Issue Track · Asian American Awareness Through Education · The Impact of U.S.-China Tensions on Asian Americans in Government · Asian American Career Ceilings – Findings and Solutions · AAPI Community Response to Rising Anti-Asian Hostility · U.S. National Defense Policies - Impact on Asian Americans and U.S. Competitiveness U.S.-China Issues Track · Perspectives on China by Former U.S. Ambassadors · Will the Chinese Economy Stagnate Like Japan's Did? · Foreign Direct Investment – Both Ways – What is Happening and Why? · U.S.-China Tech and Industrial Rivalry · Diplomacy Through Food and Culture Appeals Court Hearing on Florida Alien Land Law SB264 Following its ruling to temporarily halt the enforcement of the Florida alien land law known as SB 264 against two Chinese immigrants on February 1, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will hold hearings in Miami, Florida, in the morning of April 19, 2024. It is one of three cases that will be heard by a three-judge panel. Location of the hearing is James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, 13th Floor, 99 NE 4th St, Miami, FL 33132. The hearing is open to the public.Read the docket of the civil lawsuit of Shen vs Simpson: https://bit.ly/43idmvB . Read the ACLU statement on the February 1 Appeals Court decision: https://bit.ly/3Utx0Ub 2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit WHAT : 2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit WHEN: April 2, 2024, 8:30 am - 7:30 pm Pacific Time WHERE: In-person event, University of California, Berkeley - Martin Luther King Jr. Building, 2495 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704 HOSTS: White House Initiative on AA and NHPI; U.S. Office of Personnel Management DESCRIPTION: The one-day summit will focus on cultivating and transforming leaders in their careers within the higher education space. Together, we will engage in curated professional development topics that address challenges that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPIs) face in the higher education workplace, and bring together a rich community of administrators, staff, and faculty who are leading by example – whether it be as part of an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institution (ANNHSI), or at other degree-granting institutions (including trade and technical schools). REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3Vncrco Update on NYPD Officer Angwang According to a report by Documented on March 13, 2024, Baijmadajie Angwang , a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer and ethnic Tibetan immigrant from China, was fired by NYPD on January 29, 2024.Angwang’s case is part of a wave of prosecutions of Chinese immigrants living in the U.S. under the umbrella of the now-defunct "China Initiative," the first country-specific enforcement program in the history of the Department of Justice (DOJ). It targeted mainly scholars and scientists and had gained a reputation for being racially biased and ineffective. An analysis by the MIT Technology Review at the end of 2021 found that only about a quarter of the defendants were charged for violations against the Economic Espionage Act, while many others faced integrity issues, such as failing to reveal their affiliations with research institutes in China in grant applications. On September 21, 2020, a handful of FBI agents pointed M4 rifles at Angwang's head and handcuffed him in front of his wife and 2-year-old daughter at his home on Long Island. He spent six months in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he was only allowed two individual one-hour meetings with his family and lawyer.In January 2023, after Angwang's lawyer John Carman reviewed classified evidence at the U.S. district court in Brooklyn, prosecutors abruptly dropped the charges against Angwang. The dismissal came with a vague note citing newly discovered evidence.Carman, expressing skepticism, believed Angwang's ethnicity played a role in his arrest, noting the weak evidence against him. As a defense lawyer for nearly 30 years, Carman has observed an increase in Chinese clients in federal criminal cases over the past five years. NYPD continued its internal investigation against Angwang based on the dropped federal charges, and, later, terminated his employment. “Most internal investigations based on court cases would be dropped after the court cases are dismissed,” said Angwang, who worked as a community affairs officer at the 111th precinct in Queens before he was arrested. “It’s hard to believe in the city most welcoming to immigrants, they’d treat a new immigrant cop like me in this way.” He had also served as a US Marine in Afghanistan. “The financial burden, the toll on your mental health. Even when your charges are dropped, the impact on your family and your career is far from over,” said Haipei Shue , president of United Chinese Americans, a civil rights organization that has supported Chinese scientists.The NYPD official file on Angwang's termination is posted here: https://bit.ly/3THjLOX .Angwang's termination by the NYPD has not been reported by mainstream media. Read the Documented report: https://bit.ly/3TkslSl . Read Anywang's story: https://bit.ly/3RIqXId . News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/03/24 Committee of Concerned Scientists Annual Meeting 2024/03/25 C100: Asian American Career Ceiling Challenges in Broadcast News2024/03/26 Rally Opposing Florida SB 8462024/03/28 CSIS: U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward2024/04/02 2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit2024/04/07 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/04/08 APA Justice Monthly MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. CSIS: U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward WHAT: U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward WHEN: March 28, 2024, 9:00 - 10:00 am Eastern Time WHERE: WebcastHOST: Center for Strategic and International StudiesMODERATOR: Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, CSISPANELISTS: · Scott Rozelle, Co-Director, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions · Deborah Seligsohn, Assistant Professor, Villanova University · Yu Tiejun, President, Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University · Xie Tao, Dean and Professor, School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University · Zhang Ran, Associate Professor, Peking University DESCRIPTION: Over the last two years, the Trustee Chair has led an initiative to avoid U.S.-China scholarly decoupling and restore ties amongst scholars, students and institutions. In 2023, CSIS and Peking University co-hosted a pair of conferences with participation from leading experts from both countries that examined the obstacles to scholarly ties and steps that could be taken to overcome these challenges and create a stronger foundation for renewed ties. This event centers around the release of a major report with contributions from over two dozen of the project participants. REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/4aaCKGV 3. Racially Profiled for Being A Scientist: A Discussion of the US DOJ's China Initiative WHAT: Racially Profiled for Being A Scientist: A Discussion of the US DOJ's China Initiative WHEN: April 17, 2024, 4:30 - 6:00 pm Eastern Time WHERE: In-person event; Press Hall, 1st floor lobby, New York University HOST: New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human DevelopmentMODERATOR: Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, Vice Dean for Research and Equity, NYU SteinhardtPANELISTS: · Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Executive Director, Serica Initiative · Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, the Asian American Scholar Forum · Frank Wu, President, Queens College DESCRIPTION: A discussion of the China Initiative, a Trump-era - but potentially revived - effort "inciting widespread fear of racial profiling for Asian Americans across the country." REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3THMOlt 4. Serica Initiative: AAPI Women's Gala 2024 WHAT: AAPI Women's Gala 2024 WHEN: May 14, 2024 WHERE: In-person event, Tribeca 360, New York City HOST: Serica Initiative DESCRIPTION: An event that celebrates the remarkable journeys of women who embody the essence of our theme, "Strength Unveiled: A Celebration of Women's Success Through Resilience and Perseverance." It honors the achievements of women with significant ties to Asia—be they from the AAPI community, other parts of Asia, or those who have significantly contributed to bridging cultures and fostering inclusion across continents. REGISTRATION : https://bit.ly/3PxI4fJ 5. Lunar New Year A Holiday In The State Of Washington According to Seattle Times , Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation on March 13, 2024, officially making Lunar New Year a recognized legislative holiday in the state of Washington. The bill’s sponsor, State Representative My-Linh Thai , D-Bellevue, proposed it as part of an effort to promote inclusion of Asian Americans earlier this year. The bill passed the House on January 31 with a vote of 96-1 and on February 28 it unanimously passed the Senate with a 96-0 vote. Washington now joins Colorado and California , which mark Lunar New Year as an official, but unpaid, holiday. In recent years, New York state and Philadelphia began recognizing it as a public school holiday, and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng , D-N.Y., reintroduced a proposal to make Lunar New Year a federal holiday . Lunar New Year celebrations include Tết in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea and Spring Festival in China. Because the holiday is based on the lunar calendar, it does not fall on a set day and floats between January and February. Lunar New Year is generally a 15-day celebration. More than 900,000 Washingtonians identify as Asian, about 12% of the state’s population and about 20% of King County’s population, according to 2020 census data. Read the Seattle Times report: https://bit.ly/3PtCY3Y Back View PDF March 20, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #116 "China Initiative" Briefing; AAASE Lecture; Editorials; 3/7 Meeting; Hate Crime Update #116 "China Initiative" Briefing; AAASE Lecture; Editorials; 3/7 Meeting; Hate Crime Update Back View PDF March 1, 2022 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #230 1/8 Meeting Summary; Foreign Ownership of US Farmland; Military-Industrial Complex; + #230 1/8 Meeting Summary; Foreign Ownership of US Farmland; Military-Industrial Complex; + In This Issue #230 · 2024/01/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Summary · Foreign Ownership of US Farmland and Tracking "Alien Land Laws" · President Dwight Eisenhower's Farewell Speech on "Military-Industrial Complex" · News and Activities for the Communities 2024/01/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Summary The January 8, 2024, APA Justice monthly meeting summary is now available at https://bit.ly/3tQykpr . We thank the following speakers for their remarks and updates: · Congresswoman Judy Chu 赵美心, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), kicked off the new year with her review of 2023 and a look ahead to 2024. Rep. Chu acknowledges the community's importance in addressing profiling issues and commends their leadership for raising awareness. Rep. Chu highlights the challenges faced by the Asian American scientific community, citing major wins in 2023. She covers legislative challenges, focusing on bills restricting land ownership for Chinese and immigrant communities in various states. Rep. Chu shares the successful advocacy efforts in Texas but notes similar laws passing in other states. She emphasizes their negative impact on families and realtors and her joint effort with Rep. Al Green to introduce a federal bill countering such discriminatory laws. Rep. Chu addresses successful advocacy against harmful language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), emphasizing the importance of protecting the Asian American community. She underscores the need to recognize and preserve the resilient history of Asian American communities, mentioning regrets of both Senate and House resolutions on the historical discrimination of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Rep. Chu outlines future priorities, including combating anti-Asian discrimination and advocating for FISA Section 702 reform. A transcript of Rep. Chu’s remarks was published in Issue 229 of the APA Justice Newsletter at https://bit.ly/48AZIqx . A YouTube video of her remarks is posted at https://bit.ly/3tUixpp (11:56). · Hongwei Shang 商红伟, co-founder and vice president of the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance (FAAJA), described the significant growth of FAAJA since it was created in response to SB 264, a discriminatory bill prohibiting land and property ownership by Chinese and other nationals in Florida, especially after a memorable rally with prominent speakers and support from media groups, the Asian American, Latin American, black, and Jewish communities, and national organizations such as UCA, NAACP, LULAC, and AREAA in Miami on December 16, 2023. FAAJA memberships is now about 500. Haipei Shue 薛海培, President of United Chinese Americans (UCA) expresses gratitude to Congressman Judy Chu , Gene Wu , and Andrew Yang for speaking at the protest in Miami. Despite facing a major storm, the protest drew support from various minority groups serving as a model for moving forward. Haipei acknowledges the vulnerability of the Chinese community and the challenges they will face in the next two decades, including civil rights issues and concerns about political extremism. UCA is working to launch a civil rights movement in response to these challenges. Overall, Haipei remains optimistic that the Chinese community will overcome these challenges and see better days ahead. · Ted Gong, Executive Director, provides an overview of the 1882 Foundation, which began almost 12 years ago. The importance of the Senate and House resolutions in 2011 and 2012 was not just to express regret of what Congress did with the Chinese Exclusion Act, but also to reaffirm that Congress has the responsibility to protect the rights of all people in the U.S. The Foundation focuses on preserving oral histories and sites, working with school systems on lesson plans and curriculum, and collaborating with museums to spread awareness about the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Despite the recent 80th anniversary of its repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, issues like anti-Asian hate persist. Ted and APA Justice are working on a potential series of webinars on immigration laws where Martin Gold , Pro Bono Counsel of the 1882 Project and Partner of Capitol Counsel, will provide historical insights. Martin emphasizes that what was done in 2011 and 2012 should not gather dust on the shelf but be a point of ongoing education for the community and for others. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the third of 8 separate enactments of Congress. It became permanent in 1904 and remained so until 1943 when the law was repealed in the middle of the Second World War as a war measure. The Senate resolution sponsored by Senator Scott Brown passed by unanimous consent. The House resolution sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu passed under suspension of the rules. At the time of their sponsorship, they were members of the minority party in their respective chambers. Martin went on to explain how Scott Brown, a Republican Senator from Massachusetts, got to be the sponsor in the Senate. · Dr. Yawei Liu 刘亚伟, Senior Advisor, China Focus at the Carter Center, reported that the Carter Center was founded in 1982. Carter Center’s work in China started in the mid-1990s. Although Kissinger went to China in 1971 and Nixon went to China in 1972. It was President Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 who made the joint decision to normalize the relationship in 1978. Diplomatic relations were normalized on January 1, 1979. Dr. Liu told the story of the first Carter Center project in China and how it pivoted to the mission of promoting a better understanding between the two countries and how to prevent conflicts in the Pacific and in East Asia after President Carter met the new leader Xi Jinping 习近平 in 2012. Starting in December 2012, the inaugural Carter Center Forum on US China Relations was opened in Beijing. From 2012 to 2019, a total of 7 forums were held. This year is the first in-person forum on US-China relations after the pandemic to be held at the Carter Center in Atlanta. It is also the first time the forum is named the Jimmy Carter Forum on US-China Relations. In the US, the Carter Center is criticized as being too soft on China as well as colluding with the Chinese Communist Party. In China, the Carter Center is blacklisted because of the government's belief that it is trying to promote human rights and political reform in China. The most important mission for China Focus at the Carter Center is to wage peace between the 2 countries through better understanding of each other, through communicating with each other, and through recommendations on mechanisms to stabilize relationships. · Joanna YangQing Derman, Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security Program, Advancing Justice | AAJC, provided three updates. First, the discriminatory Rounds Amendment was stripped from the final version of the NDAA. It would have effectively prohibited foreign citizens including Chinese citizens from purchasing various forms of US land. Second, a four-month extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was included in the NDAA which was signed by President Joe Biden . Third, senators on both sides of the aisle are considering extreme permanent changes to US immigration law in exchange for Ukraine aid. These harmful immigration policy proposals include gutting the asylum system, locking up more immigrants and families in detention, and expedited removals that would endanger undocumented people across the country. · Eri Andriola, Associate Director of Policy & Litigation for Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), substituted for Gisela Perez Kusakawa and provided three updates. First. AASF is monitoring the impacts of Florida's SB 846, which restricts Florida's public colleges and universities from hiring researchers and graduate assistants from several “countries of concern,” which include China and Iran. Second, on December 7, 2023, AASF sent a joint letter with 48 coalition partners to Congress to oppose language to reinstate the Department of Justice's China initiative in a House appropriations bill and any future iterations of the initiative. The letter highlighted the lasting harms to scholars targeted, as well as the chilling effect on Asian American scholars and their leadership in science and technology. Third, Eri also expressed thanks to APA Justice for co-hosting a community briefing webinar on FISA Section 702 on December 12, 2023. The briefing featured civil rights, national security, and policy experts, who broke down what FISA Section 702 is and how it impacts Asian American communities. Read the 2024/01/08 monthly meeting summary: https://bit.ly/3tQykpr . Read past monthly meeting summaries: https://bit.ly/3kxkqxP On December 12, 2023, a coalition of five organizations hosted a Community Briefing on Section 702 of FISA: Sweeping Reforms to Warrantless Surveillance Initiative. Panelists discussed the key reform bills at play, including the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA) and the Protecting Liberty and Ending Warrantless Surveillance Act (PLEWSA), and how the Asian American community and advocates can get involved on this issue. Video of the webinar is posted here: https://bit.ly/3O4Lw0v (YouTube video 59:22). Foreign Ownership of US Farmland and Tracking "Alien Land Laws" As reported at the January 8 APA Justice monthly meeting, the Rounds Amendment was successfully kept out of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. If enacted, it would have effectively prohibited foreign citizens including Chinese citizens from purchasing various forms of US land, very much in line with the resurgence of the discriminatory alien land laws at the state level. The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) became law in late 1978. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintains a nationwide system for the collection of information pertaining to foreign ownership in U.S. agricultural land and produces annual reports at: https://bit.ly/3u9DInv . Detailed data with individual entries in Excel files are available at: https://bit.ly/47CxomkOn November 2, 2023, the American Farm Bureau Federation analyzed the 2021 AFIDA data and published a report with a series of maps and charts on Foreign Investment in U.S. Agricultural Land. As of 2021, 40.83 million acres of U.S. agricultural land are owned by foreign investors and companies. This corresponds to 3.1% of all privately held agricultural land and 1.8% of all land in the United States. Canadian investors own the largest portion of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land with 31% of the total and 0.97% of all U.S. agricultural land. Following Canada, investors from the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany own 0.37%, 0.21%, 0.19%, and 0.17% of U.S. agricultural land, respectively. Figure 2 further breaks down foreign-investor-held land by predominant origin nation. Forestry and energy production are the main interests for foreign ownership of US agricultural land. In 2021, 48% of reported foreign-held agricultural land was forestland, 29% was cropland, 18% was pastureland and 5% was other agricultural land and non-ag land, which accounts for factors like owner or worker housing and rural roads. These proportions vary widely depending on the state. Forestland, for instance, makes up 99%, 98%, 86% and 85% of foreign-held agricultural land in Maine, Alabama, Louisiana and Michigan, respectively. In states with significant timber industries, this land is primarily held by investors from Canada and the Netherlands. Of the top eight states with the highest concentrations of foreign-investor-held land, only two (Colorado and Oklahoma) have cropland as their largest foreign-held land category, with investors primarily from Canada, Italy, and Germany. Between 1981 and 2021, foreign ownership of US. agricultural land increased from 1% to 3.1%. Many of the current concerns about foreign ownership of U.S. ag land have focused on China. China is ranked 18th in the ownership of U.S. ag land with 383,000 acres, less than 1% of total foreign-owned U.S. ag land, or just 0.03% of all agricultural land in the U.S. The combined total ownership by the other "countries of concern" - Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela - is about 95,000 acres of agricultural land in the U.S., which corresponds to 0.007%.The Land Report 100 produces a list of the 100 largest landowners in the U.S. In 2024, America’s largest landowner is Red Emmerson . He and his family own 2,411,000 acres in California, Oregon, and Washington through their timber-products company, Sierra Pacific Industries. The Emmersons became America’s largest landowners in 2021 when they acquired 175,000 acres in Oregon, surpassing Liberty Media chairman John Malone ’s 2,200,000 acres. CNN founder Ted Turner is America’s third largest landowner with 2 million acres in the Southeast, on the Great Plains, and across the West. Chinese entrepreneur Tianqiao Chen ranks 82 as the owner of 198,000 acres of Oregon timberland. An ongoing onslaught of federal and state legislation prohibiting property ownership by citizens of foreign countries (i.e. “alien land laws”) has raised alarm throughout the Asian American community. In response, the Committee of 100 has created a database and interactive data visualization tool to help individuals and organizations identify and track related legislative activity by state governments and Congress, especially those related to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The tracking results and interactive tools are available at https://bit.ly/3Hxta4B . According to the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA) on January 17, 2024, the plaintiff's motion for an expedited appeal has been granted by the Appeals Court in Atlanta. Oral argument and disposition have been ordered for the court's calendar. A separate order will follow on the motion for injunction pending appeal to block the Florida alien land law SB 264, which went into effect in Florida on July 1, 2023. President Dwight Eisenhower's Farewell Speech on "Military-Industrial Complex" According to the National Archives, 63 years ago on January 17, 1961, in this farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned against the establishment of a "military-industrial complex." In a televised speech, he surprised many with his strong warnings which still ring true today. As President of the United States for two terms, Eisenhower had slowed the push for increased defense spending despite pressure to build more military equipment during the Cold War’s arms race. Until World War II, the United States had no armaments industry. Nonetheless, the American military services and the defense industry had expanded a great deal in the 1950s. Eisenhower thought this growth was needed to counter the Soviet Union, but it confounded him. A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be might, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.... American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions.... This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience.... Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications.... In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.... We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together. President Eisenhower's warning remains a cautionary message against the undue concentration of power and influence within the military-industrial complex, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a balance between national security and the preservation of democratic values and institutions. President Eisenhower was the commanding general of the victorious forces in Europe during World War II. He served as President of Columbia University in 1948-1953. He obtained a truce in Korea and worked incessantly during his two terms as U.S. President (1953-1961) to ease the tensions of the Cold War. The end of Eisenhower’s term as President not only marked the end of the 1950s, but also the end of an era in government. A new, younger generation was rising to national power that would set a more youthful, vigorous course. He died in 1969.Watch President Eisenhower's farewell address: https://bit.ly/3O6eeyq (video 16:03). Read the National Archives transcript of his speech: https://bit.ly/47JdHZY News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events:2024/01/22 White House Briefing on the 51st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade2024/02/04 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/02/05 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/02/10 New Year's Day of the Year of the Dragon2024/03/03 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/04/07 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/04/19 Committee of 100 Annual Conference & GalaVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. Asian American gymnasts at University of Florida According to the Alligator on January 18, 2024, Morgan Hurd , a redshirt sophomore at the University of Florida (UF), is a Chinese American and has competed in gymnastics since she was little. She shares similar identities with her teammates, senior Victoria Nguyen and junior Leanne Wong , who are also Asian Americans. Wong is also a Chinese American, and Nguyen is Vietnamese. In a sport that has recently seen a rise in prominence by Asian Americans like Suni Lee , who became the first Asian American woman to win gold in gymnastics all-around, student-athletes like Hurd still struggled for years to find their sense of belonging within sports because of her identity. In the NCAA and at the Division I level, where UF athletics compete, Asians make up just 2% of all student-athletes, according to a 2022-2023 report. The report stated there were just 11,326 (2.2%) Asian student-athletes out of 526,084 total across the NCAA. At the Division I level, there are 3,735 (2.0%) Asian student-athletes out of 188,485 total. While the figure of Asian American student-athletes in the NCAA has grown from 6,859 in 2012 to 11,326 in 2023, the percentage of Asian-American student-athletes has remained at just 2% despite the overall growth in numbers. Of the more than 500 student-athletes at UF, only 16 are Asian.Despite the many challenges they face going back to when Nguyen was 7 years old and through the pandemic, they share similar cultures at UF and thrive at their sport. “In the pandemic, I really found community in that,” Hurd said. “I realized there is no being ‘Asian enough,’ and I do belong in this [Asian American] community.”Although Hurd, Wong and Nguyen represent a small number of Asian student-athletes, their impact has gone a long way. The trio were key members of a Florida team that won the 2023 Southeastern Conference Championship and finished second in the 2023 National Championship. Wong became the 2023 SEC balance beam champion. Nguyen was named a 2023 NCAA All-American, and the pair both claimed 2023 All-SEC honors. Their strength in their identity has helped them grow as people and helped show others they can do it too. Read the Alligator report: https://bit.ly/3S9uXSq 3. One Year Anniversary of Monterey Park January 21, 2024, marks one year since a gunman entered Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, and opened fire, murdering 11 individuals and seriously wounding 9 others. The shooter then went on to Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra, attempted to enter and continue his killing spree, and was only stopped by the heroic actions of Brandon Tsay , who saved countless lives that day. This shooting, the worst in Los Angeles County history, occurred on the eve of Lunar New Year in a community that is majority Asian American and is considered the first suburban Chinatown in the nation. Read the CAPAC statement: https://bit.ly/3O9WB0A . Read the White House statement: https://bit.ly/4b1DGPbAccording to TIME , Monterey Park—typically the first in the region to kick off Lunar New Year celebrations— has pushed back its annual festival by a week, and plans to hold a vigil to honor the victims lost a year ago. While the anniversary throws a spotlight on Monterey Park, healing has been an ongoing effort for residents over the past year. A resiliency center was established by the Chinatown Service Center, an Los Angeles-based non-profit working to address the needs of Chinese immigrants in the region. Read the TIME report: https://bit.ly/3HrVGVn Back View PDF January 22, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter