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Newsletter - #2 SCMP Report, NSF Exclusive, Injunction Against ICE Directive Filed, And More #2 SCMP Report, NSF Exclusive, Injunction Against ICE Directive Filed, And More Back View PDF July 9, 2020 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

The DOJ's online report of the China Initiative has been suspiciously changed ahead of a review by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. June 14, 2021 Launched by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in November 2018, the "China Initiative" purportedly combats economic espionage and trade secret thefts. However, its scope and boundaries have not been defined after three years of operation. There has not been an official count of "China Initiative" cases. According to the DOJ online report on June 14, 2021, there were 71 prosecutions since the start of the "China Initiative." This web page lists 24 scientists from 23 of these "China Initiative" cases. Cases with ID #XX are believed to be under the "China Initiative" but have not been explicitly listed by DOJ. These cases match closely the Law360 report 'Overheated': How A Chinese-Spy Hunt At DOJ Went Too Far on September 28, 2021. On November 19, 2021, the DOJ online report was changed significantly with at least 20 cases removed and about 4 cases added. The unannounced and unexplained changes made on a Friday are disturbing because an independent review led by Matt Olsen, newly appointed Assistant Attorney General for National Security, is supposed to be starting. The removals are susceptible to creating yet another misleading impression of the "China Initiative." For example, the removals include the dismissed or acquitted cases of Anming Hu, Qing Wang, Chen Song, Xin Wang, Juan Tang, Kaikai Zhao, and Guan Lei. One direct impact of the DOJ changes is the removal of the 8 dismissed cases. The DOJ's online report of the China Initiative has been suspiciously changed ahead of a review by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Previous Next Watch Out for Unexplained Changes in the DOJ Online Report

Alien Land Bills This item is connected to a text field in your content manager. Double click the dataset icon to add your own content. The numbers Calls per hour 111 Feedback submitted 22 Average feedback per call 21 As of May 28, 2023, there are 33 states known to have introduced some form of alien land and property bills in the current or recent legislative session. A few have passed and signed into state law; some have died; others are still pending. State-by-state links to the legislations and a companion map are provided below as community resources. They are collected from multiple sources including research by APA Justice, Advancing Justice | AAJC, Committee of 100, National Agricultural Law Center, Project South, media reports, and crowdsourcing. Due to the dynamic nature of these developments, we plan to update the information periodically. We anticipate the introduction or continuation of alien land and property bills into future state legislative sessions. Title Oct. 4th 2023 Tracking Bills Read More Latest developments

Newsletter - #109 Gang Chen Speaks Out; 01/30 Webinar; "We Are All Gang Chen;" End "China Initiative"+ #109 Gang Chen Speaks Out; 01/30 Webinar; "We Are All Gang Chen;" End "China Initiative"+ Back View PDF January 27, 2022 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #68 06/23 Webinar On Anming Hu Mistrial; Rep. Ted Lieu Letter To DOJ; Yellow Whistle #68 06/23 Webinar On Anming Hu Mistrial; Rep. Ted Lieu Letter To DOJ; Yellow Whistle Back View PDF June 21, 2021 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #204 AAPI Solidarity in Washington; Power in Voting; 1,000+ Faculty Letter to President; + #204 AAPI Solidarity in Washington; Power in Voting; 1,000+ Faculty Letter to President; + In This Issue #204 AAPIs Show Solidarity at 60th Anniversary of March on Washington Asian Americans Rise as a Powerful Voting Bloc Over 1,000 Faculty/Scientists Urge President Biden to Renew U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement News and Activities for The Communities AAPIs Show Solidarity at 60th Anniversary of March on Washington According to AsAmNews , supporters, volunteers, and staff from fifteen national AAPI organizations gathered at the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington on August 26, 2023.The original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place on August 28, 1963, in which over 200,000 people gathered for Black equality and civil rights– and during which Martin Luther King delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.The AAPI contingent was an intergenerational gathering – with American-born second generation and first-generation naturalized citizens, and Asians — representing multiple organizations and races. John C. Yang , president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center (AAAJ-AAJC) gave a rallying speech at the march.Multiple organizations made reference to the long history of AAPIs in civil rights work.“While JACL was the only Asian American organization to formally join the 1963 march, this year we look forward to being joined by hundreds more of our partner Asian American organizations,” the Japanese American Citizens League shared in a statement. “Chinese Americans had our long history of civil rights movement, e.g. Yick Wo v. Hopkins in 1886, Steven Pei , co-organizer of APA Justice and founding chair of the United Chinese Americans, told AsAmNews via email.[Thanks to donation of the Committee of 100 and the Yellow Whistle Project], United Chinese Americans, and other organizations, passed out yellow whistles as part of an anti-Asian hate project. The pamphlet describes the whistle as a “symbol of self-protection and solidarity in our common fight against historical discrimination and anti-Asian violence,” reclaiming the color yellow which “has been weaponized against Asians as the color of xenophobia.”According to Pei, half a million whistles have been distributed nationwide since April 2021, and another 300,000 have been ordered.Participants joined from across the country, including Texas, California, Massachusetts, and more. Tibetan American Baimadajie Angwang , who was accused of being a Chinese spy in 2020 under the "China Initiative" targeting AAPIs (all charges were dropped earlier this year), traveled from New York to attend the march.“We are here to be united. We are all the same. When they push the American dream to immigrants, they say if you work hard, follow the rules, you will be treated fairly. I did everything an immigrant is instructed to do but because of anti-Asian rhetoric, I got accused of being a spy who works for China,” Angwang told AsAmNews . Most importantly, AAPIs stated their commitment to anti-racism.“There are politicians and racists who want to exploit Asian Americans and use our community as a wedge in the fight for justice and civil rights, but we must refuse to be complicit in the oppression of Black Americans. We must do our part and march in racial unity alongside our Black community members – not only today but every day because our fight for equity is one and the same,” stated Louise Liu , Anti-Hate Communications Coordinator, AAAJ-AAJC.Read the AsAmNews report: https://bit.ly/45Jjgaq APA Justice has created an online photo album of the event and will add photos and content at https://bit.ly/3OVojxs . Did You Know Who Designed the MLK Statue? According to Wikipedia , Lei Yixin 雷宜锌 , a prominent Chinese sculptor born in Changsha, Hunan, China, designed the Stone of Hope, the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the King Memorial near the United States National Mall. Asian Americans Rise as a Powerful Voting Bloc A major message from the 60th Anniversary of March on Washington is voter registration and turnout. The 1963 March on Washington was a catalyst for landmark voting rights action, leading to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Advocates are sounding alarms about voter suppression and the rollback of voting rights protections, particularly those affecting Black and minority voters. Echo King , President of Florida Asian American Justice Alliance who joined the March on Washington event, commented that "if we are not at the table, we are part of the menu." Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director of the Asian American Scholar Forum, also participated in the event. So did Adrienne Poon , President of OCA-DC. According to NBC News on August 21, 2023, Asian Americans have emerged as a coveted voting bloc in the 2024 election, with both parties recognizing their power to decide the presidency and other competitive races.Asian American voter turnout spiked in 2020, surprising many political observers, and proved crucial to President Joe Biden ’s Electoral College victory. In battleground Georgia, Asian American turnout jumped by a startling 84% from the previous presidential election. Two years later, Sen. Raphael Warnock , D-Ga., sought to capitalize with an unusual move in his ultra-competitive contest: He produced ads in Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese to mobilize Asian American voters. He carried 78% of that vote in the runoff and won.Now , with the next campaign underway, the political power of this voting bloc has sunk in. The national committees for Democrats and Republicans say they are launching unprecedented investments to court Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/3Ece9DM Christine Chen , Co-Founder and Executive Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), and Bob Sakinawa , Director of Policy and Advocacy, were also at the March on Washington event. During the August 7 monthly meeting, Christine reported on "The Growing AAPI Electorate and What is at Stake." APIAVote’s work revolves around collaborating with national, regional, and local partners in order to equip advocates with the training, tools, resources, and best practices they need to do their best work as “trusted messengers” in their communities. APIAVote’s Alliance for Civic Empowerment (ACE) is missing partners in some states in the Mid-West, South, and Northeast. Christine's presentation included the trend and historic AAPI turnout in 2020, a presidential election year, with 64% registered and 60% turnout. Christine also gave an outline of activities and training in 2023 and 2024. State and local communities are urged to connect with APIAVote to build and strengthen their network to register and turn out voters from the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Christine's 18-slide presentation is here: https://bit.ly/3DZBKY4 Over 1,000 Faculty/Scientists Urge President Biden to Renew U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement On August 24, 2023, Stanford University Professors Steven Kievelson and Peter Michelson sent a letter to President Joe Biden and members of the National Security Council, expressing their strong support for renewing the US-China Protocol on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Their call for endorsement of the letter started on August 19. APA Justice amplified their call in its newsletter on August 22. A State Department spokesperson reportedly told NBC News on August 23 that there is likely to be a six-month extension. The current authority expires today, August 27, 2023.The letter to the President was endorsed by over 1,000 faculty and scholars from many US universities including multiple Nobel Laureates, members of the National Academies, and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Their names and institutional affiliations are included in the letter.Read the cover letter and the original letter with endorsers at https://bit.ly/44xTNPX Chinese Academics Are Becoming a Force for Good Governance in China According to Issues in Science and Technology, a quarterly journal published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Arizona State University, Chinese bioethicists, legal scholars, and scientists released a consensus statement on March 5, 2023, condemning He Jiankui , the infamous scientist who used the CRISPR gene editing tool to edit the genomes of three babies born in 2018 and 2019. Released from prison in 2022, He quickly began advertising a new—and risky—gene therapy to patients. The March statement denounced He’s actions and urged Chinese authorities to be more accountable in their oversight. The statement also protested the censorship and secrecy shrouding He’s sentencing and called for more open, public discussion of scientific controversies in China.Global scientists and regulators welcomed the statement, which was released the day before the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. It was one of the few times since He’s imprisonment in 2019 that the world heard directly from Chinese academics about how controversies involving human genome editing research should (or should not) be handled. And in China, the statement’s timing was particularly remarkable: it was released the very morning of the opening session of China’s annual National People’s Congress, a moment when the government is especially intolerant of dissent. This bold timing demonstrated that, contrary to common belief, Chinese academics are not passive followers of the Chinese Communist Party. Instead, China’s scientific community is making concerted efforts to actively shape science governance.The consensus statement reflects important changes in the domestic dynamics of Chinese science—particularly the increasingly prominent role of academics. Chinese academics have become a proactive, effective force demanding science governance in China, but international counterparts too often fail to recognize their role and so undermine their efforts. China still has much work to do to develop a trusted and accountable regulatory system worthy of its scientific advancement and ambition, but meaningful, sustainable reforms must come from within the country.Read the Issues in Science and Technology report at: https://bit.ly/45OdEf5 U.S.-China joint research papers drop for first time in 28 years According to Nikkei Asia on August 25, 2023, research papers jointly authored by scientists in the U.S. and China have declined for the first time in nearly three decades, underscoring the impact of decoupling in the face of heightened political tensions between the two countries. The tally fell 5% on the year to 51,630 papers in 2021, according to a report from Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The last drop was a slight decrease in 1993.Although the pandemic slowed international exchanges between researchers in 2021, papers typically take years to write. COVID-19 is believed to have had only a minimal impact on joint papers published in 2021.In addition, the overall number of research papers jointly authored across international borders grew 7% to 577,166 in 2021. Factors other than the pandemic likely contributed to the decrease in Sino-American papers. "I suspect there are moves in the U.S. to avoid co-authoring with China due to the bilateral political tensions," said Tohru Yoshioka-Kobayashi , an assistant professor at Hitotsubashi University's Institute of Innovation Research.The U.S. took a hard line on China after Donald Trump became president in 2017. The souring relations deteriorated into a trade war in 2018, when the Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing responded with retaliatory duties.The U.S.'s China Initiative anti-spying program ran from 2018 to 2022, with spillover effects on academia. The Trump administration tightened restrictions on Chinese student visas, taking such steps as shortening expiration dates for graduate students in high-tech fields. Current President Joe Biden has imposed controls on semiconductor exports to China, keeping bilateral tensions smoldering. A Japanese researcher working in China reports hearing a colleague say they returned from the U.S. because they no longer felt comfortable there. "As the result of Chinese-born researchers returning to China from the U.S., joint research projects with them are being completed inside of China," the Japanese researcher said. China produced more scientific papers than the U.S. in 2017, taking the global crown. China later bested the U.S. in research paper quality, based on the number of citations.Sino-American joint papers have increased roughly 20 times over two decades. Even with the drop-off in 2021, the U.S. remains China's biggest partner in collaboration, accounting for 36% of all of China's jointly written papers.If the decoupling intensifies, China may end up building a research infrastructure no longer reliant on the U.S. The number of Sino-American papers in chemistry dropped nearly 20% in 2021, while those in materials science declined more than 10%.China could also create a sphere of cooperation separate from the one dominated by American and European research. Pakistan rose to China's seventh-biggest research collaborator in 2021 from 10th place in 2020, with its share of joint papers with China growing to 4.6% from 3.6%.India and Saudi Arabia climbed to 13th and 14th place. Collaboration with emerging and Middle Eastern countries "may spark innovation due to the greater diversity," Yoshioka-Kobayashi said. Read the Nikkei Asia report at https://s.nikkei.com/47Otl7A News and Activities for The Communities 1. Asian American Studies Minor Launches at Fordham University According to Fordham News on August 23, 2023, Fordham University students will be able to minor in Asian American studies beginning this fall. The new minor will provide an interdisciplinary understanding of Asian American people and other members of the Asian diaspora, as well as a focus on Asian culture and history. The minor is part of Fordham’s new Asian American studies program, which faculty members hope to continue to expand. “The student population is really diverse,” said Stephen Hong Sohn , Ph.D., English professor and Thomas F.X. and Theresa Mullarkey Chair in Literature. “Not only do we want Asian American students and Asian students to have a place to explore their backgrounds and identities, but it’s really important for all students to take these types of classes because they need to learn about other cultures, other identities.” Read the Fordham News report: https://bit.ly/3QZTyKv 2. 2023 National Unity Summit The Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) will convene 2023 National Unity Summit in Washington DC from September 25 to 27, 2023. Main theme : Collaborating to Achieve Diversity, Unity and Equality Purpose : To create a community platform for all AAPI organizations and leaders to interact and collaborate on vital community issues. Concept : The 2023 National Unity Summit is an in-person event that showcases our [diversity] and unity while affording community leaders the opportunity to advocate on select issues.Read about the event and register at: https://bit.ly/3QXCVPM APA Justice has also posted the AAUC event at its newly created Community Calendar at: https://bit.ly/45KGyga Back View PDF August 27, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #210 9/11 Meeting Summary; Franklin/Angwang; Paranoia/Scapegoating; "Stop The Blame"; More #210 9/11 Meeting Summary; Franklin/Angwang; Paranoia/Scapegoating; "Stop The Blame"; More In This Issue #210 2023/09/11 Monthly Meeting Summary Franklin Tao 陶丰 and Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 - Support Their Fight for Justice Paranoia and Scapegoating with Discriminatory Alien Land Laws "Stop The Blame" Campaign Starts News and Activities for the Communities 2023/09/11 Monthly Meeting Summary The September 11, 2023, APA Justice monthly meeting summary is now available at https://bit.ly/48lSE1h . We thank the following speakers for their updates and discussions: Nisha Ramachandran , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), nisha.ramachandran@mail.house.gov with updates from CAPAC John Yang 杨重远 , President and Executive Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC with updates from AAJC Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), gpkusakawa@aasforum.org with updates from AASF Clay Zhu 朱可亮 , Partner, DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所; Founder, Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA) 华美维权同盟 with updates on the Florida alien land bill lawsuit Deborah Seligsohn , Assistant Professor of Political Science, Villanova University; Senior Associate (Non-resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the case for renewing the U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (STA) Steven Kivelson , Professor of Physics, Stanford University on a letter to the President and the National Security Council to renew STA Sudip Parikh , Chief Executive Officer of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals on the future of ethical science collaboration Ting Wu , Special Advisor, Office of the Chief of Staff, The White House, on observations and response from The White House. The 9/11 meeting was privileged for APA Justice invited attendees. The meeting summary is limited in distribution to APA Justice subscribers. It is posted at https://bit.ly/48lSE1h Franklin Tao 陶丰 and Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 - Support Their Fight for Justice 1. Professor Feng "Franklin" Tao Professor Franklin Tao 陶丰 was the first scientist to be charged under the now-defunct US Justice Department's "China Initiative," which unjustly targets many Chinese American scientists and causes significant harm to their careers and families. On September 21, 2023, over 30 people led by Haipei Shue 薛海培 , President of United Chinese Americans, attended the Appeals Court hearing of Professor Tao's appeal to overturn his only remaining charge of making a false statement. The hearing was livestreamed via YouTube. The audio portion is available here: https://bit.ly/46dOxmc (2:24:52) starting at around 1:45: 08.Read Professor Tao's case at https://bit.ly/3fZWJvK and visit his GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/5bf4adbe 2. NYPD Officer Baimadajie Angwang Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 is an officer of the New York Police Department (NYPD), U.S. citizen, Marine Corps veteran, and Army reservist. He was arrested in September 2020, charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government and jailed pre-trial for six months under the now-defunct "China Initiative" based on intercepted phone calls. In January 2023, a federal judge dismissed all the charges against him at the request of the Department of Justice "in the interests of justice."However, the NYPD has not only failed to reinstate Officer Angwang, but will hold an administrative trial against him on September 26, 2023, starting at 10 am ET. The trial will be held on the 4th floor, Departmental Trial Room A, 1 Police Plaza, New York City.In a letter sent to Rep. Judy Chu 赵美心 , Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Restore The Fourth provided details of the continuing persecution of Officer Angwang. "We all need this unjust treatment to not become the norm. Officer Angwang needs vocal, public support to ensure a fair judicial process. His trial is public, which means that the more people watch across the country, the more momentum we can build behind Angwang’s case. We seek justice for Officer Angwang, and call attention to the broader abuses committed by U.S. intelligence officials," the letter said.In a message to APA Justice, Officer Angwang said, "[t]he reason why we are fighting back is to send a message to any wrong doing against our community is that we do fight back, don’t think we would just take it like how they want us to be. We won’t be silent. We also want to send a message to anyone who is going through my situation or Professor Franklin Tao’s situation or who might going through this, we want them to know that don’t give up on fight, the community is behind you. We will support you. That’s also the reason why I am going to Denver to support Professor Tao. Thank you."Read the Restore The Fourth letter: https://bit.ly/3RuO9v8 . Read the case of Officer Angwang: https://bit.ly/3RIqXId Paranoia and Scapegoating with Discriminatory Alien Land Laws According to AsAmNews on September 18, 2023, three U.S. Congressmen set off alarm bells after a major land deal near a military base raised fears of Chinese spies. "They saw red and now some might say, they have eggs on their faces," the report said.According to ABC7 News , Flannery Associates has been purchasing $1 billion worth of farmland for the last five years near Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, 50 miles east of San Francisco. It is not unusual for the backers of a corporation to remain anonymous.However, with U.S.-China relations at a low, Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) all expressed concern that Chinese spies were behind the purchase of 55,000 acres of farmland in Solano County, prompting federal legislation on foreign real estate transactions and investigations into a type of malware that China could disrupt military operations across the country.When the dust settled, the truth finally came out. Flannery Associates is backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalist and billionaire Michael Moritz . Moritz has been highly critical of San Francisco’s liberal politics. His hopes are to build a new housing development and city near Travis Air Force Base, one he says will bring new jobs to the area.All of this could be dismissed with a shrug, except for one trend. According to APA Justice, 34 states as well as Congress have passed or have considered legislation to ban the purchase of land by Chinese and others from countries considered threats to the U.S. The bills are reminders of the Alien Land Laws that banned the purchase of land by Asians 100 years ago when the Chinese Exclusion Act and anti-Asian discriminatory laws were in effect. “Legislative action must be based on evidence and facts, not fear,” said Edgar Chen , Special Policy Advisor, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. “While we recognize there are legitimate national security concerns over geopolitical competition between the United States and China, unless there is concrete evidence that land investments from individuals who hail from foreign nations, whether from China or elsewhere, are being used for espionage purposes, lawmakers should not rush to paint all real estate transactions – especially by ordinary individuals with no ties to foreign governments – as threats to national security.” Cynthia Choi of Chinese for Affirmative Action and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate expressed her own concerns. “Many politicians have been citing Chinese ownership of farmland as a threat to national security, when in reality, experts say Chinese land ownership accounts for less than 1% of farmland and an even smaller percentage of agricultural land . Despite the facts, they continue to sensationalize issues regarding China to justify overreaching measures that harm innocent Asian Americans and immigrants,” she said. The ACLU recently joined in a lawsuit to overturn a ban against Chinese ownership of homes and land in Florida signed by GOP presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis . “We continue to remain concerned about any attempt by Congress to target individuals solely because of their national origin, which falsely equates individuals from countries like China as synonymous with the Chinese government,” said Kia Hamadanchy , senior policy counsel at ACLU. “These efforts are a reminder of historical instances where false claims of national security were used as a justification to prohibit Asian immigrants from becoming landowners and will only serve to exacerbate discrimination against Asian communities living in the United States.” Read the AsAmNews report: https://bit.ly/3LrTobg Rep. Al Green’s Remarks to Challenging Discriminatory Land Laws During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on September 13, 2023, Rep. Al Green remarked, "my state [Texas] had the legislature to propose restrictions that would be directed toward specific persons and it created quite a stir because while the people who passed these laws don't have to interact with the people who can suffer from some of the consequences that may not be intended, persons of Chinese ancestry for example. When you start using specificities of this type, there are people in this country who suffer. They suffer in terms of how people approach them generally, but they also suffer in the sense of consternation as to what they will do with land that they currently hold or will they be able to purchase additional property." Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxwYblt-Ja0 (4:55) "Stop The Blame" Campaign Starts According to NBC News on September 21, 2023, Asian American civil rights organizations are launching a new effort to help monitor and prevent the use of inflammatory anti-Asian political rhetoric, ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. The “ Stop the Blame ” campaign, spearheaded by the nonprofit groups Stop AAPI Hate and Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), kicked off with a website that includes information on the impact of racist language and policies.According to the Stop the Blame mission statement on to its website, "Everyday Asian Americans and immigrants are caught in the crossfire as tensions between the U.S. and Chinese governments grow. An alarming number of politicians and lawmakers today are using geopolitics as an excuse to justify hate and racism against our communities. They're promoting anti-Asian political rhetoric, discriminatory surveillance measures, and unconstitutional land ownership bans across the country."This is anti-Asian scapegoating - a political tactic used for centuries by those in power to deflect blame, instill fear, and rile up their voter base at the expense of our safety and our rights. We're on a mission to stop the hate, stop the blame, and stop anti-Asian scapegoating once and for all."Rep. Judy Chu 赵美心 , Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, underscored the campaign’s critical timing. “This anti-Asian rhetoric, many times, has to do with politicians who are trying to outdo one another,” she said. “They don’t care who they hurt in the process.” Cynthia Choi , co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and co-executive director of CAA, said the website not only contains data and research on anti-Asian language, but also a tracker that will document states seeking to pass land ownership bans. At least 33 states have proposed bans on land ownership from the Chinese government, entities or citizens in 2023. The website will additionally feature information on different campaigns and initiatives in individual states that are pushing back on anti-Asian policies. They will also be calling on Congress to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Currently, Section 702 of the legislation gives U.S. intelligence agencies the authority to acquire communications of non-Americans, who use American communications platforms, without a warrant. The measure has been criticized by many Asian American and other advocacy groups for its potential to be weaponized as a tool to racially profile communities of color. “We’ve seen how policies created under the guise of ‘national security’ are used to scapegoat Asian American communities in the U.S., and they fuel further racism, violence and the erosion of everyone’s rights,” said Ashley Gorski , a senior staff attorney of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.Instead of leaning on racist, anti-China rhetoric, Chu said, politicians should be careful with their words, and distinguish between the Chinese government and Chinese individuals. Chu brought up her own experience in which Rep. Lance Gooden , R-Texas, questioned her “loyalty” to the U.S. Chu had defended Dominic Ng 吴建民 , a Biden appointee, who was featured in an article by the conservative Daily Caller , that alleged he had ties to a Chinese Communist Party front group. “It was his way of outdoing other politicians,” Chu said. Choi said that with the campaign, she hopes to send elected officials the message that “scare tactics” are not a winning strategy. “The message is that if you attack our rights and put us in harm’s way, we will take action,” she said. “We won’t stand for it. We will hold you accountable.”Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/3ZurAbV . Visit the Stop The Blame website: https://stoptheblame.org/ US House Education Subcommittee Hearing According to The Oklahoman and The Hill , Reps. Raul M. Grijalva and Suzanne Bonamici said a September 19 U.S. House education subcommittee hearing on the threat of Chinese influence in American schools perpetuated a debunked conspiracy theory and could fuel anti-Asian American bias. Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director of Asian American Scholar Forum and an invited speaker in the hearing, encouraged the subcommittee to exercise caution when crafting laws and rhetoric on China. She said Asian Americans and immigrants suffer discrimination when the country’s leaders espouse anti-China language. “For many of them, they are not differentiated between this foreign government and who they are here,” Kusakawa said. “Decades after the systemic incarceration of Japanese Americans, we find ourselves repeating history as Asian Americans are treated as ‘perpetual foreigners’ and economic or national security threats,” Kusakawa said. “It has become a harmful pattern that when the United States has tensions with an Asian country, Asian Americans and immigrants face the backlash at home and become collateral damage.” Read The Oklahoman report: https://bit.ly/45ZAK2L and the Hill report: https://bit.ly/48uv81Z News and Activities for the Communities 1. Community Calendar The APA Justice Community Calendar is located on the front page of the APA Justice website at https://www.apajustice.org/ . Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Events: 2023/09/25-27 AAUC National Unity Summit 2023/09/26 NYPD Trial of Officer Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 2023/09/27 1990 Institute: Teaching Asian American Narratives through Literature 2023/09/27 U.S.-China Climate Cooperation Organizing Webinar 2023/09/27-28 APAICS 2023 Tech Summit 2023/10/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. Organizing for Climate Action: The Opportunities of U.S.-China Cooperation Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16) will lead an online discussion called “Organizing for Climate Action: The Opportunities of U.S.-China Cooperation” on how the U.S. and China can act together to tackle climate change and help build a green and fair global economy. Justice is Global, the Quincy Institute, the 1990 Institute, and climate, peace, and racial justice organizations co-sponsor this event on the need for deeper U.S.-China climate cooperation. Register for the event at https://bit.ly/3t9U9PM 3. Asian Faculty Association at Yale (AFAY) According to Yale News , Asian and Asian American faculty gathered at the Yale School of Medicine’s Brady Auditorium to announce AFAY’s inaugural board. The organization aims to build support both within and beyond its membership, and its mission statement includes advocacy for both members and for Yale’s Asian students, especially when facing challenges related to their cultural backgrounds or ethnicities. Currently, 194 faculty members have registered to join AFAY, of which 12 are non-Asian. Professor Haifan Lin 林海帆 served as AFAY election moderator. Professor Qin Yan 严钦 and Professor Yongli Zhang serve as President and President-elect respectively. Read the Yale News report: https://bit.ly/48pIZGQ 4. APAICS Tech Summit - Impact of Increased Competition Between the US and China Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) will host the 2023 Tech Summit on September 27-28. The event will bring together community and corporate leaders, subject matter experts, as well as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA & NH/PI) elected officials for bipartisan policy discussions that affect the AA & NH/PI community and the nation at-large. Register for the summit here: https://www.apaics.org/tech-summit-2023 Back View PDF September 23, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #217 11/6 Meeting with Rep. Andy Kim; Call for Action; 10/2 Meeting Summary; 2030 Census; + #217 11/6 Meeting with Rep. Andy Kim; Call for Action; 10/2 Meeting Summary; 2030 Census; + In This Issue #217 · 2023/11/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting · Call for Action: Sign-on Letter to Congress to Oppose Reauthorization of Section 702 or Make Major Reforms · 2023/10/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Summary Posted · What The Next Census in 2030 Could Look Like · News and Activities for the Communities 2023/11/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, November 6, 2023, starting at 1:55 pm ET. In addition to updates by Nisha Ramachandran , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Joanna Derman , Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC; Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), confirmed speakers include: · Andy Kim, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who has announced his candidacy to run for the Senate seat in New Jersey, will talk about issues and concerns of the people of New Jersey and the nation. · Gene Wu 吳元之, Member of the Texas State House of Representatives on education and coalition building efforts on the alien land bills (and other anti-immigration bills) in Texas and beyond. · Dr. Sergio Lira , Co-Vice President, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Alliance (TMAC); President, Greater Houston, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), on his tireless efforts to grow a multicultural advocacy alliance with the AAPI community in Texas and more. · Cindy Tsai 蔡欣玲, Interim President and Executive Director, Committee of 100 (C100) on recent C100 activities including the community playbook, allyship between marginalized groups, and The Yellow Whistle. · Andy Li, President, API Coalition; President, Civic Leadership USA, on the First National API Elected Officials Summit in San Francisco on November 18-19, immediately following the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit and CEO Summit. The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎, Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org Meet and Know Congressman Andy Kim In the aftermath of the riots on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, a Congressman crouched down on his knees and filled trash bags with debris in a near empty rotunda and then the adjacent rooms, including the National Statuary Hall and the Capitol crypt downstairs. It was Congressman Andy Kim in the blue jacket. According to NBC News , many people labeled Andy a “true patriot.” While Andy said he didn’t dwell much on the symbolic heft of his actions, the term was on his mind. “I feel blessed to have this opportunity as a son of immigrants to be able to serve in Congress,” he said. “Democracy to me is this place of opportunity that is affording me a chance to do something extraordinary.”In 2018, Andy became the first Asian American to represent New Jersey in Congress.Six months after his cleaning up the U.S. Capitol at midnight following the January 6 insurrection, Andy gave up the blue suit he wore on that day for public good again - this time for the Smithsonian Institution as part of its collection of items from the riot. “This suit of mine that’s with the Smithsonian now is not because of some high achievement that I've reached in this country. It was because I unfortunately was at the site of one of the most tragic events in our American democracy,” Andy, the son of Korean immigrants, said. “The values it tries to bring about are very much ones that are rooted in my immigrant family. Having humility, having respect for this country that gave us the opportunities that we've had.”He added: “I hope other Asian Americans see in that suit the same thing that I see, which is, hope for the kind of future in this country that many of us either immigrated to this country for, or grew up in this country with.”Andy talked to APA Justice at its September 2021 monthly meeting. A summary of his remarks is posted here: https://bit.ly/3kg687M . His talk starts at the 15:07 of this video: https://bit.ly/3ki3jmI We warmly welcome the return of Congressman Andy Kim to speak at the APA Justice monthly meeting on November 6, 2023. Call for Action: Sign-on Letter to Congress to Oppose Reauthorization of Section 702 or Make Major Reforms In partnership with American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), APA Justice calls for concerned individuals to sign on a letter calling for the end of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) unless there is fundamental reform to the law. Current authority for Section 702 will expire on December 31, 2023.Concerned individuals may complete and submit the letter electronically at https://bit.ly/3EFkg3R . You have the option to add a personal message in the text box. The online form will require you to fill in your name and address. It will automatically send the letter to your two senators and one representative. It is that easy. Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and Stop AAPI Hate, Advancing Justice | AAJC, and Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) led a coalition of over 60 organizations and sent a compelling message https://bit.ly/3LkEmnt to Congress: Reform Section 702 . The coalition also produced a fact sheet https://bit.ly/49cRF3L to explain what Section 702 is and how warrantless surveillance has inflicted serious harm to marginalized communities including Chinese Americans."Asian Americans have a history of being subjected to racial profiling and discrimination, often rooted in stereotypes and misconceptions. Authorities like Section 702 that lack proper oversight and targeting criteria can exacerbate these issues, leading to unjust scrutiny of innocent individuals within the Asian American and AMEMSA communities," the fact sheet said. Concerned organizations are urged to sign on to the coalition letter by contacting Andy Wong andywong@caasf.org , CAA Managing Director of Advocacy, and Joanna Derman jderman@advancingjustice-aajc.org , Program Director at Advancing Justice | AAJC.Concerned individual will now have a chance to express their opposition to reauthorization of Section 702 without comprehensive reforms. APA Justice urges you to sign on to the ACLU letter today at https://bit.ly/3EFkg3R and include references to the coalition letter https://bit.ly/3LkEmnt and fact sheet https://bit.ly/49cRF3L . 2023/10/02 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Summary Posted The October 2, 2023, APA Justice monthly meeting summary is now available at https://bit.ly/40gnN2q . We thank the following speakers for their updates and discussions: · Casey Lee casey.lee@mail.house.gov , Policy Advisor, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) substituted for Nisha Ramachandran nisha.ramachandran@mail.house.gov , Executive Director, CAPAC, and provided updates from CAPAC. · Joanna Derman, Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security Program, will be reporting on behalf of Advancing Justice | AAJC going forward. She reported on two events - one titled “ Total Information Awareness: The High Costs of Post-9/11 U.S. Mass Surveillance ” at Brown University and the other a webinar titled “ State Legislatures 101 – How They Work and How You Can Make an Impact .” · Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), gpkusakawa@aasforum.org reported on an upcoming launch of a new AASF website and its first 2022 to 2023 annual report, listening sessions with federal agencies, and the upcoming release of educational materials on Dr. Xiaoxing Xi 's case and Section 702 warrantless surveillance. Gisela also reported on AASF partnership with US-Asia Law Institute of NYU Law School, an upcoming session with Drs. Gang Chen and Xiaoxing Xi at the NAPABA conference, and an event at the Georgetown Law Center on combating the rise of anti-Asian bias in America. · Clay Zhu 朱可亮, Partner, DeHeng Law Offices 德恒律师事务所; Founder, Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA) 华美维权同盟 reported on the recent developments of the Florida alien land bill lawsuit, as well as a webinar with Florida state legislators hosted by the Florida Asian American Justice Alliance (FAAJA). · Nancy Chen, Founding President, Chinese American Women in Action (CAWA) provided a report on her vast experience as Regional Administrator of the Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor; Director of U.S. Senator Paul Simon ’s Chicago Office; and Director of Asian-Pacific American Outreach at President Bill Clinton ’s White House Office of Presidential Personnel. After her retirement, Nancy founded CAWA and continues to stay involved in matters of importance to the community in Naperville, Illinois, and the nation. APA Justice will assist Nancy to organize a town hall meeting for Rep. Bill Foster on specific issues such as alien land laws and other laws and policies would have the impact on Asian Americans. Rep. Foster is the only Ph.D. Physicist in Congress. · Andy Wong, Managing Director of Advocacy, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), reported on the delivery of a coalition letter to Congress in partnership with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and AASF to express the collective opposition to the reauthorization of section 702 unless there are comprehensive reforms. CAA and Stop AAPI Hate have also launched the Stop the Blame campaign in response to the ongoing rise of anti-Asian political rhetoric and legislation which is harming innocent Asian Americans and immigrants. · Haipei Shue 薛海培, President, United Chinese Americans, reported on the Appeals Curt hearing of Professor Franklin Tao 陶丰 in Denver and the administrative trial of New York Police Department Officer Baimadajie Angwang 昂旺 in New York City. Read the 10/2 meeting summary: https://bit.ly/40gnN2q . Read past monthly meeting summaries: https://bit.ly/3kxkqxP What The Next Census in 2030 Could Look Like On October 28, 2023, the New York Times reported on how census categories for race and ethnicity have evolved over the last 230 years and how they have shaped American identities. By sifting through copies of each decennial census from 1790 through 2020, the report found that almost none of them categorized race in the exact same way. Each change indicated an incremental shift in how the nation perceived racial and ethnic identities at that time. The first census in 1790 separated free “white” people from other free people and enslaved people. In 1890, the census identified African Americans by the fraction of their African heritage: “Black,” “mulatto,” “quadroon” and “octoroon.” These terms stamped in old documents are a stark reminder of U.S. history. The antiquated term “Negro” was used in nine decennial censuses until 2010.Some of the changes reflected the country’s anxieties over immigration. For example, the government added the category “Chinese” in the 1870 census, after many immigrants from China had come as railroad workers and anxieties over immigration from China rose. With the year 1970 came a significant shift in the census, when people were allowed to choose their race, rather than having a census taker do so. The census is now a marker of self-identification instead of an outsider’s perception. With 24 decennial censuses so far, race options have changed more than a dozen times, as new groups have been added and others deleted.The latest overhaul would allow more race and ethnicity options for people to describe themselves than the 2020 census did. One of the biggest changes would be to combine race and ethnicity into a single question. “Hispanic or Latino” would become one of seven race and/or ethnicity options, rather than in a separate origin question as it is now. A check box for “Middle Eastern or North African” would also be added. If approved, the new forms would be adopted across all surveys in the country about health, education and the economy. The Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget has asked for feedback on this plan, which it could implement and add to all federal forms as early as next summer and then be used for the 2030 census. Read the New York Times report: https://nyti.ms/46Yng84 . News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2023/11/01 Asia Society - A Conversation with Gary Locke 2023/11/02 Chinese American Museum - Saving America's Chinatowns2023/11/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall Meeting2023/11/06 APA Justice November 2023 Monthly Meeting2023/11/09-12 NAPABA Convention2023/11/11 Association of Chinese Professionals 2023 MetroConVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. Nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli Advances The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee advanced the nomination of Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Institutes of Health by a vote of 15-6, with ranking member Bill Cassidy , R-La., voting for President Joe Biden ’s nominee and Chairman Bernie Sanders , I-Vt., opposing it. Watch the HELP Committee proceedings: https://bit.ly/479cYBx Back View PDF October 31, 2023 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #247 4/8 Monthly Meeting; Historic Summit; AI Talent; DOJ/DHS Task Forces; Signature Issue #247 4/8 Monthly Meeting; Historic Summit; AI Talent; DOJ/DHS Task Forces; Signature Issue In This Issue #247 · 2024/04/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting · White House Holds Historic AA-NHPI Leadership Summit at UC Berkeley · Global Competition for AI Talent · Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Task Forces · Chinese Signatures on Police Graduation Certificates · News and Activities for the Communities 2024/04/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, April 8, 2024, starting at 1:55 pm ET. In addition to updates by Nisha Ramachandran , Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Joanna YangQing Derman , Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC; and Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), confirmed speakers are: · Robert Underwood, Commissioner, President's Advisory Commission on AA and NHPI; Former Chair of CAPAC; Former President of University of Guam · Yvonne Lee, Commissioner, USDA Equity Commission; Former Member, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights · Jiangeng Xue, Zhong-Ren Peng, and Chenglong Li , Officers of Florida Chinese Faculty Association and Professors of University of Florida · Cindy Tsai, Interim President and Executive Director, Committee of 100 David Inoue, Executive Director of the Japanese American Citizens League, will not be able to join this meeting. 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 . White House Holds Historic AA-NHPI Leadership Summit at UC Berkeley On April 2, 2024, the White House hosted a daylong AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit at University of California Berkeley. According to KTVU-TV , the summit was standing room only with over 600 leaders and other stakeholders, including seasoned administrators and student members of various campus organizations. Vice President Kamala Harris provided a statement that was read by Erika Moritsugu , Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA-NHPI) Senior Liaison at the White House, welcoming the attendees and thanking them for committing to supporting the effort for all to thrive. The summit provided a panel discussion and offered strategies for advocacy on how to serve this historically underserved population. Breakout sessions at the conference included grant funding strategies for organizations seeking funding for programs. Bringing together leaders to encourage those in the pipeline of administration in higher education is necessary to address student, faculty and staff needs adequately in the future. Read and watch the KTVU-TV report: https://bit.ly/3U8h9cY Dr . Robert Underwood , Member of the President's Advisory Commission on AA and NHPI and a key leader at the UC Berkeley summit, will speak at the APA Justice monthly meeting on April 8, 2024. He is expected to remark on the renewal of the Commission and the summit at UC Berkeley. Below left: Dr. Robert Underwood at the UC Berkeley summit. Below right: (from left to right) Professor Steven Pei , Co-Organizer of APA Justice; Dr. Underwood; 2013 Nobel laureate Randy Schekman ; and Santa Ono , President of University of Michigan. Global Competition for AI Talent MacroPolo launched its talent tracker in 2020 as artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. While companies and institutions are racing to monetize the power of AI, the prospect of its full potential is also giving pause to governments around the world. Much uncertainty centers on how to balance AI’s power to solve a range of economic and social problems while curtailing the downsides of its potential.It is clear that a large share of the tech world’s capital and talent will be deployed toward bringing AI applications to the real world. The competition among countries in this arena will be fiercer than ever—and much of that competition will be over the indispensable input of an AI ecosystem: talent. According to MacroPolo, talent also happens to be one of the most clearly quantifiable inputs. After three years of a pandemic and amid geopolitical ructions, MacroPolo has produced "The Global AI Talent Tracker 2.0," updating on how the balance of talent changed from 2019 to 2023. To compare apples to apples, the 2023 update, like the previous version, uses the Neural Information Processing Systems conference (NeurIPS) as its sample. For its December 2022 conference, NeurIPS accepted a record-breaking 2,671 papers with an acceptance rate of 25.6%, compared with 1,428 papers and an acceptance rate of 21.6% in 2019. According to the Brookings Institution, the United States holding a key advantage: its attractiveness to Chinese talent. Yet, this appeal is under threat by security policies that alienate Chinese scientists and immigration policies that restrict the flow of talent. With many of the leading AI companies based in the United States—ranging from established giants like Microsoft to innovative upstarts like OpenAI—one might assume that American leadership in this industry is secure. Yet, most do not recognize the role that Chinese nationals contribute to these prominent U.S. companies. This oversight highlights how the United States’ global dominance in AI may be more fragile than assumed. Nearly one in two top AI researchers is from China.According to the MacroPolo 2023 report, China produced 47 percent of the top AI talent in 2022, far surpassing the United States (ranked second), which accounted for 18 percent of the top AI talent.The prominence of Chinese talent in AI is not surprising, given the foundational role of mathematics in AI, and the fact that American students have fallen behind in STEM fields. AI was ranked as the most popular major for three consecutive years from 2020-2023 in China, while in the United States, business is the most popular major.Structurally, the American education system—particularly at the K-12 level—is segregated and unequal and fails to prepare students for foundational subjects such as math. The highly differentiated curriculum track placing students into tracks from honors to remedial, however, serves the privileged and leaves a large majority of American students from humble beginnings behind. Pushed by the United States’ anti-China policies and pulled by Chinese higher education’s rising stature, more top Chinese AI talent is staying in China. In 2022, 28 percent of top AI researchers were working in China, up from only 11 percent in 2019. While a small number of Chinese students have participated in espionage on behalf of Chinese authorities, treating the entire group with suspicion has morphed into anti-Asian racism, which is not only experienced on the streets and in shopping malls but also in challenges of securing research funding. Asian researchers face the highest rejection rates for National Science Foundation Grant applications—undermining the stereotypical argument of Asian exceptionalism in academia—and are increasingly leaving the United States or returning to China as a result. Some may wonder whether the United States should diversify its dependence on foreign talent. Of course, it should. However, there are few alternative sources of AI talent outside of China. While India has overtaken China in the overall number of international students in the United States, it falls significantly short in producing top AI talent, contributing just 5 percent compared to China’s 47 percent. Fortunately, many U.S.-educated Chinese talent want to stay and work for American companies, especially in the AI industry, as they offer better pay and work-life balance than companies in China. However, U.S. immigration policies create formidable barriers. The tightening of H-1B visa regulations has led to a sharp decline in approval rates, from 46.1 percent in fiscal year 2021 to just 14.6 percent in fiscal year 2024, with Indian applicants securing 70 percent of these visas (in 2021). Considering that the United States has established a comprehensive system to identify foreign agents through visa screenings and law enforcement framework, denying entry to any law-abiding, skilled foreign talent directly undermines America’s capacity for innovation. Immigration is a hot topic in the 2024 presidential election, yet the focus is predominantly on undocumented migrants at the southern border rather than the highly skilled workers who are integral to American innovation. Immigrants, notably those from the Chinese community, have been instrumental in driving innovation in AI and America’s broader high-tech industry, which suffers from a domestic “talent crisis.” Addressing this challenge demands more favorable immigration policies, particularly in relation to the restrictive H1-B visa lottery system, and a reduction in the hostility faced by Chinese scientists. It is in America’s best interest to reform these systems. MacroPolo: The Global AI Talent Tracker 2.0 2024/04/05 Forbes opinion: US Policy Undermines Talent Flows Amid Growing Competition With China 2024/04/04 Brookings Institution: US security and immigration policies threaten its AI leadership 2024/03/22 New York Times: In One Key A.I. Metric, China Pulls Ahead of the U.S.: Talent 2024/03/14 Washington Post: Chinese students, academics say they’re facing extra scrutiny entering U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Task Forces On February 16, 2023, the Departments of Justice (DOJ) published a Fact Sheet on the Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The strike force was launched a year ago by DOJ and the Department of Commerce, alongside their partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, to "fiercely protect advanced technology from being unlawfully acquired by foreign adversaries." Among the highlights in the Fact Sheet are: · 14 cases involving alleged sanctions and export control violations, smuggling conspiracies, and other offenses related to the unlawful transfer of sensitive information, goods, and military-grade technology to Russia, China, or Iran. · Three cases charged former employees of U.S. companies with stealing confidential and proprietary information related to sensitive technology and attempting to take such information to China, and one case charged a defendant with seeking to obtain technology from U.S. manufacturers on behalf of Chinese end users. · Three cases charged individuals with seeking to procure sensitive U.S. technology on behalf of the government of Iran or Iranian end users. Read the DOJ announcement: https://bit.ly/43NwXFmA New Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council Subcommittee was created as part of the Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council (HSAPC) under the Department of Homeland Security last year. It held an inaugural meeting on September 6, 2023. The membership list of HSPAC is posted here: https://bit.ly/4atBhw3In a memorandum to HSAPC Chair Elisa Villanueva Beard dated November 14, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas tasked the subcommittee to assess and offer recommendations regarding foreign malign influence in higher education institutions. Specifically, the review and recommendations should include: · Guidelines and best practices for higher education institutions to reduce the risk of and counter foreign malign influence; · Consideration of a public-private partnership to enhance collaboration and information sharing on foreign malign influence; and · An assessment of how the U.S. Government can enhance its internal operations and posture to effectively coordinate and address foreign malign influence-related national security risks posed to higher education institutions. Secretary Mayorkas requested HSAPC to submit its findings and key recommendations to him no later than 150 days from November 14, 2023 - the date of the memorandum. Read Secretary Mayorkas' memorandum: https://bit.ly/43LlyGd Chinese Signatures on Police Graduation Certificates According to AP , Washington Post , and other media reports, a northern Virginia town has been excluded from a countywide police training academy after the town’s chief complained about Chinese signatures on trainees’ graduation certificates.Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard complained that the academy director, Maj. Wilson Lee , whose given name is Lee Wai-Shun , used Chinese characters to sign the certificates that graduates receive when they complete training at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy.Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, neighboring Washington DC. The Herndon Police Department has about 54 officers. Among Herndon’s 24,000 residents, 16 percent are of Asian descent. The countywide figure is about 21 percent.DeBoard told Lee in an email, “I just found out that the academy graduation certificates were signed by you in some other language, not in English. This is unacceptable for my agency. I don’t want our Herndon officers to receive these and I am requesting that they are issued certificates signed in English, the language that they are expected to use as an officer.”On March 18, the county’s deputy executive for safety and security, Thomas Arnold , wrote to DeBoard informing her that the county was terminating Herndon’s affiliation with the academy. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis declined to comment on the dispute. But in an email he sent to officers, he defended Lee, saying. “For 16 years of an impeccable career, memorializing a legal name given at birth with a signature that exudes heritage pride has not garnered a single criticism. Nor should it.”The National Asian Peace Officers Association sent a letter to Davis, thanking him for defending Lee. “We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support and commitment in your efforts to exemplify Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in your workplace,” Shane W. Liu , the association president, wrote, adding that Davis’s department “clearly models and reflects the expectations of the community you serve.”Officials with the Hamkae Center, a grass-roots nonprofit that organizes Asian Americans in Virginia for social, racial and economic justice, praised the move in a statement. “Residents of color are already less likely to trust police,” wrote Zowee Aquino , a leader of the center. “How are we supposed to trust that we will be treated with respect if this is how a chief of police is willing to treat a colleague?” Aquino said Asian American advocates have “warned our state officials that using such race and ethnicity-based rhetoric … will negatively impact Asian Americans. Attempting to reject and delegitimize a signature from a highly-ranked official — because the name was written in an unfamiliar language that uses a non-Latin alphabet — is a direct example of that impact.”Read the Washington Post report: https://wapo.st/3TCi3gA . Read the AP report: https://bit.ly/3J70mRC . Watch the local NBC News report: https://bit.ly/4alefHI News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/04/07 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/04/08 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/04/09 China Town Hall (2-part program)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 264 Visit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. Back View PDF April 7, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #299 Introductions to USCET and VFP; AASF Update; 11/18 APA Justice Monthly Meeting; More #299 Introductions to USCET and VFP; AASF Update; 11/18 APA Justice Monthly Meeting; More In This Issue #299 · The US-China Education Trust · Updates from The Asian American Scholar Forum · Veterans for Peace · 2024/11/18 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Summary · News and Activities for the Communities The US-China Education Trust The US-China Education Trust (USCET) and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) co-sponsored the 2024 American Studies Network (ASN) conference on the campus of BFSU from October 25 to 27, 2024. This conference celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of the American Studies Network in 2004. This milestone event was marked by the first in-person ASN conference since the pandemic reshaped global engagement, successfully bringing together prominent speakers and dynamic panel discussions centered on the theme of Connecting People, Cultures and Ideas: Re-examining Sino-American Exchange . Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch , Founder and President of USCET, was originally slated to speak at the APA Justice monthly meeting on November 18, 2024. Unfortunately, she was unable to participate due to illness. Rosie Levine , the Executive Director of USCET, stepped in to represent her and address the meeting.Rosie comes to USCET from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where she has been a senior program analyst working on the China program. In April 2024, Levine was named a Project Fellow in The Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations. Prior to USIP, Rosie was responsible for the Public Intellectuals Program at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR).USCET is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization housed at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Ambassador Chang Bloch was the first Asian American to achieve the rank of ambassador. After retiring from diplomatic service, she took a visiting fellowship position at Peking University and realized that the study of America in China needed significant support to be able to fully understand the richness of American culture. This year, USCET just celebrated its 25th Anniversary. USCET has traditionally worked at the intersection of higher education and U.S.- China relations but also spanned a lot of different types of engagements, including media studies and student issues. Facing the downturn of the U.S.-China relationship, USCET has an eye towards how it can help to sustain the networks between the two countries at the academic level amid the challenging environment on both sides. USCET works with 73 organizations across China. USCET's work has also expanded to serve communities in both directions. As scholars, students and professionals in both the U.S. and China are seeking a better understanding of each other. At this moment USCET is seeing all sorts of pressures in the academic landscape within China that make it difficult for Chinese scholars to both do their work and better understand the U.S. Restricted academic freedom and other types of restrictions on international travel and participation in international conferences makes it very hard for Chinese scholars to do their work. On the U.S. side, we have challenges related to the China Initiative and perceptions both real and reputational. Some fear their travel to China might be seen as suspect back here in the US.This also trickled down to students. As of this spring there were about 800 Americans studying in China down from its peak of around 15,000. The USCET premise is that no matter what comes next in the U.S.-China relationship, whether it is cooperation, competition, or somewhere in between, we really need to have a core of Americans who deeply understand China and 800 students is not going to be sufficient, no matter what the future holds. So USCET is looking at ways in which we can support the study of China holistically here, and then vice versa.In that spirit USCET just held one of its flagship programs, a conference in Beijing celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the American Studies Network, on October 25-27, 2024. The conference brought together scholars of the United States and the American studies community from across China to meet each other, engage with their peers, and share research. Rosie reported that USCET had a successful conference. Over 60 abstracts were submitted from professors to graduate students and undergraduates. The study of the United States in China is healthy. They are under severe pressures as well. USCET is looking at ways that it can both engage with the scholarly community in China as well as policymakers here to try to keep those channels open and engage robustly.In addressing how the downturn in the U.S.-China relations impacts the Asian American community, particularly in the field of the U.S.-China relations, USCET wants to make sure the pipeline of expertise on China here reflects the diversity of America, including Asian Americans who have felt a lot of pressures in the relationship, both in their personal capacity as well as fear that engaging in this type of work might make it harder to engage with their family back in China, or facing discrimination here in the U.S. organizations that they want to work for, including the U.S. Government. USCET is currently in an early design phase of some programs to help to create a robust pipeline of Asian Americans interested in the U.S.-China relations and welcomes help from those in this group to think through that series of projects.Read more about the 20th Anniversary ASN Conference held at BFSU in Beijing: https://bit.ly/4iDV94d Updates from The Asian American Scholar Forum During the APA Justice monthly meeting on November 18, 2024, Kai Li , Vice President of Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), speaking on behalf of Gisela Perez Kusakawa , Executive Director of AASF, who is on maternity leave, provided updates on two key activities: · Asian American Pioneer Medals Symposium . The inaugural symposium and ceremony at Stanford University in July were highly successful, with over 1,300 attendees and notable speakers, including John Hennessy , former Stanford’s president and Google’s parent company chair, and Jonathan Levin , their new president. A highlight video is available on aasforum.org . The next event is tentatively scheduled for July 25-27, 2025, at Stanford, featuring a science symposium, an awards ceremony, and a policy symposium. Invitations will be sent once details are finalized. · National Survey on Talent Migration . A new round of surveys is being prepared to investigate why research talent is leaving the U.S. for other countries, including China. This round aims to address gaps from the previous survey with the goal of supporting advocacy efforts. Veterans for Peace · Veterans for Peace: https://www.veteransforpeace.org/ · 2024/10/13 Veterans for Peace: End Washington’s New McCarthyism! · 2024/10/04 Asia Times: The Washington Post’s witch hunt on Chinese Americans During the APA Justice monthly meeting on November 18, 2024, Michael Wong , Board Member and Former National Vice President, Veterans for Peace (VFP), introduced VFP and described some of its recent activities.VFP is a national US organization with several international chapters of military veterans and allies committed to promoting peace and ending war. Founded in 1985, VFP advocates peaceful solutions to conflicts, addressing issues like nuclear disarmament, veterans’ rights, and the costs of war on communities and the environment. Michael shared his concerns about a rising wave of suppression reminiscent of McCarthyism, escalating geopolitical tensions, and threats to advocacy groups. VFP has long worked to promote peace and counter the trend of endless wars. Michael pointed to troubling signs of a repressive climate targeting dissent and advocacy efforts within the United States, highlighting incidents where activists and groups are being unjustly labeled as foreign agents. Examples included alleged accusation against Code Pink protesters advocating for Gaza, wrongly associating them with China, as well as a Black socialist group acquitted of charges of being Russian agents, noting they were merely advocating for improved diplomatic relations. Michael warned about House Resolution 9495, which could empower the U.S. Treasury Department to revoke nonprofit status from organizations accused of supporting terrorism, with decisions made without evidence and retroactively reviewing statements up to three years old. The resolution's vague language raises alarm, as it could allow for punitive actions against groups advocating controversial positions. Michael expressed concern that such measures could lead to misuse by future administrations, citing fears even from mainstream organizations like MoveOn.org . Michael also recounted a protest during Xi Jinping ’s visit for the APEC Conference in 2023. He described how anti-China protesters aggressively confronted Chinese Americans welcoming Xi and Biden’s discussions. According to Michael, these anti-China demonstrators pushed their way into the pro-Xi crowd, filmed the incident, and later framed the Chinese Americans as attackers. He criticized the media, including the Washington Post , for accepting the narrative of the aggressors without scrutinizing the evidence. Drawing parallels to the 2019 Hong Kong protests, Michael noted similar tactics being employed domestically. He described the Hong Kong protests as violent riots that involved firebombs, physical attacks, and other destructive acts. Wong argued that these protests were supported by U.S. entities like the National Endowment for Democracy, linking them to broader geopolitical strategies. He expressed concern that these “color revolution” tactics are now being repurposed within the United States to suppress dissent and demonize advocacy groups. Michael’s commentary underscores a broader fear that the political climate, particularly under a Trump administration, could worsen. He emphasized the importance of vigilance and continued advocacy to resist these trends and protect the ability of groups to operate freely and promote peace. His organization remains committed to addressing these challenges and fostering international and domestic cooperation for peace and justice. 2024/11/18 APA Justice Monthly Meeting Summary During the APA Justice monthly meeting on November 18, 2024, Nisha Ramachandran , Executive Director of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), provided the following updates as Congress wrapped up and preparations for the 119th Congress began: · Pending Legislation . The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is under negotiation, with specific provisions being monitored, such as vetting foreign researchers at Department of Energy facilities. Government funding discussions are ongoing, including efforts to reinstate the China initiative. · Post-Election Transition . House and Senate members are organizing for next year. CAPAC will welcome new members, increasing its size from 22 to 24 members, reflecting growth in representation. Andy Kim is joining the Senate, enhancing CAPAC's influence. Joanna YangQing Derman , Program Director, provided the following updates on recent activities of Advancing Justice | AAJC: · Opposition to Alien Land Laws . Continued efforts to combat such laws at state and federal levels, particularly in Texas, where new bills are being introduced, including advocacy to prevent land law provisions from being included in NDAA negotiations. · China Initiative Concerns . Emphasis on opposing efforts to reinstate the China Initiative, with strategies to mobilize community resistance. · House Select Committee on CCP . Opposing its reauthorization due to divisive rhetoric and its contribution to anti-Asian sentiment. · Immigration Concerns . Monitoring reports of potential mass deportations targeting Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans under President-elect Trump. In addition, Peter Michelson , Luke Blossom Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences and Professor of Physics, Stanford University, outlined recent efforts to oppose the reinstatement of the China Initiative, a policy criticized for disproportionately targeting academic researchers and undermining U.S. efforts to attract and retain global talent.Together with his colleague Steven Kivelson , Peter authored letters to House and Senate leadership expressing strong opposition to the revival of the initiative. The first letter, sent on October 8, was endorsed by 166 Stanford faculty members. A follow-up letter on October 28 gathered nearly 2,000 endorsements from faculty and senior staff across U.S. universities. These letters emphasized the detrimental effects of such initiatives on international talent recruitment, as highlighted by a 2024 National Academy of Sciences report. The report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense, labeled the China Initiative "highly problematic," particularly for its disproportionate focus on academia and its adverse effects on Asian American scholars.Peter stressed the civil rights abuses associated with the initiative, citing prominent cases where scholars were unjustly prosecuted and later acquitted. He emphasized the need to defend individuals facing such allegations by providing expert legal resources. He also participated in a panel at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, where he and other experts Including Yasheng Huang , Founding President of Asian American Scholar Forum, Glenn Tiffert , Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Zhenan Bao , K.K. Lee Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University discussed U.S.-China science and technology relations. Peter summarized comments by Professor Bao on the China Initiative's impact on her research group, highlighting confusion over shifting and unclear rules for collaborative research. Previously allowed practices were suddenly prohibited without clear guidance. Peter agreed with Professor Bao's perspective and emphasized the importance of clarity in research policies. He also urged colleagues to identify and challenge rules that are nonsensical or harmful to prevent adverse effects on the U.S. scientific and academic community.Peter further mentioned the Secure Platform initiative, established under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and funded by the National Science Foundation. With a budget of $67 million, the platform aims to identify foreign threats, enhance research security, and provide training to the academic and business communities. Peter called for engagement with academia in this effort and stressed the importance of educating legislators and stakeholders to foster rational, evidence-based policies. He concluded by advocating for clarity and fairness in research policies to strengthen the U.S. position in global scientific collaboration.A summary for the APA Justice monthly meeting on November 18, 2024, is being prepared. It will be posted at https://bit.ly/3kxkqxP upon completion.***** NOTE: Judith Teruya has been appointed Executive Director of CAPAC which will be chaired by Rep. Grace Meng in the 119th Congress. Judith has been a Senior Advisor at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. She has also served as a Designated Federal Officer for the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. We thank Nisha Ramachandran and Casey Lee for their many years of dedicated service at CAPAC. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2025/01/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/01/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2025/01/15 Master Class: Maintaining the Effectiveness of Organizational Equity Initiatives in the Current Environment2024/01/16 Master Classes: Asian American Career Lessons2025/01/19 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/02/02 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2025/02/13-15 2025 AAAS Annual Meeting2025/02/16 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details. 2. Call for Action Combatting Discrimination and Bias at NeurIPS 2024 On December 16, 2024, a coalition led by the Association of Chinese Scholars in Computing (ACSIC 北美计算机华人学者协会) posted an open letter to the Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) Board, 2024 Organizing Committee, and NeurIPS Community in change.org , expressing serious concerns regarding statements made by Dr. Rosalind Picard from the MIT Media Lab during her keynote talk at the 38th NeurIPS annual conference.According to the open letter, NeurIPS has a long and respected history of fostering a community that is rich in diversity and collaboration. Researchers, students, and professionals of Chinese origin, among many others, made valuable contributions to the community and society. We must work towards creating an environment that fosters an inclusive environment.However, during the 2024 NeurIPS Conference, Dr. Picard singled out Chinese scholars when discussing academic dishonesty. When an attendee expressed concerns about this during Q&A, Dr. Picard’s response further raised concerns that her words feed into harmful and unfounded stereotypes and racial bias against scholars of Chinese origin.The open letter recommended four actions to the NeurIPS Board. On December 18, 2024, Dr. Picard issued a statement, stating that " While I became aware at the end of my talk that I had caused significant pain, I have learned over these past days the depth of the damage I did. I have talked directly with students and faculty colleagues at MIT who are of Chinese descent and who have suffered horrible prejudice and mistreatment, and I am arranging to meet with other members of our Chinese community at MIT to learn more about what they are experiencing. For all of you in our community who are hurting because of my actions, I am deeply sorry for having caused you this additional pain. " Read the coalition letter at https://bit.ly/3DrfIR9 . Read Dr. Picard's statement: https://bit.ly/4gNRDm7 . # # # APA Justice Task Force is a non-partisan platform to build a sustainable ecosystem that addresses racial profiling concerns and to facilitate, inform, and advocate on selected issues related to justice and fairness for the Asian Pacific American community. For more information, please refer to the new APA Justice website under development at www.apajusticetaskforce.org . We value your feedback. Please send your comments to contact@apajustice.org . Back View PDF December 23, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter

Newsletter - #236 Year of The Dragon; Alien Land Laws; Section 702; US Heartland China Association; More #236 Year of The Dragon; Alien Land Laws; Section 702; US Heartland China Association; More In This Issue #236 · The Year of The Dragon Has Arrived · Updates on Alien Land Laws in FL, GA, and More · New Warrantless Surveillance Bill Introduced in Congress · US Heartland China Association · News and Activities for the Communities The Year of The Dragon Has Arrived February 10 was New Year Day for the Year of the Dragon with celebrations across the U.S. and the world. The sighting of a dragon was reportedly captured in a video in Singapore, but locals later claimed with tongue in cheek that the dragon is around all year and stays at a hotel named after it. When did the Chinese calendar start? According to Wikipedia , it depends on when the origin of a particular calendar era is chosen. This is Year 4722 if you go by the first reign of the Yellow Emperor ( Huángdì 黄帝 ). Updates on Alien Land Laws in FL, GA, and More On February 1, 2024, The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted the enforcement of Florida’s alien land law, known as SB 264, against two Chinese immigrants who have challenged the statute in court. On very short notice, Clay Zhu (DeHeng Law Offices), Ashley Gorski (ACLU), and Patrick Toomey (ACLU) of the legal team spoke at the APA Justice monthly meeting on February 5, 2024. They provided updates on the ruling for the ongoing lawsuit which was filed after Florida passed SB 264 last May. The legal team, including the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, DeHeng Law Offices PC, AALDEF, and Quinn Emanuel, swiftly challenged the Florida state law in May. Despite the District Court judge initially rejecting their motion for a preliminary injunction, the legal team appealed to the Court of Appeals last August, seeking an expedited process due to the harm caused by the state law.The legal team is grateful for the decision that was issued. It prevents Florida from enforcing SB 264 against two of the plaintiffs. It is a very good sign because the court’s reasoning was that the plaintiffs are substantially likely to prevail on their argument that Florida's law is preempted by federal law.There is already a federal statute that regulates real estate purchases that potentially implicate national security, the court said. Under the Constitution, the federal law controls and for that reason the Florida law is very likely unconstitutional. The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in support of the preliminary injunction in the US District Court in June 2023. The adopted legal theory, if it is embraced ultimately by the Appeals Court, is one that could reach many other people who are contending with the hardships posed by SB 264. Oral arguments are scheduled in Miami the week of April 15. Florida Asian American Justice Alliance (FAAJA) has been leading a broad, diverse coalition to hold rallies against SB264. Concerned organizations have also submitted amicus briefs.The legal team's talk is included in this partial summary of the February 5 APA Justice monthly meeting: https://bit.ly/3uuhm0b . For more information about alien land bills, visit https://bit.ly/43epBcl Georgia Introduces Alien Land Bill HB 1093 According to LegiScan, House Bill (HB) 1093 , was introduced by six Republicans in the Georgia legislature on January 31, 2024.A hearing was held by the Georgia House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee on February 9, 2024. Ben Lynde , ACLU of Georgia Policy Counsel, testified on HB 1093, a bill that would exclude certain non-citizens from buying agricultural land in Georgia. He said, "HB 1093 represents a new law that recalls similar efforts over the past to weaponize false claims of National Security against Asian immigrants and other marginalized communities. It is very difficult for me now as a veteran and lover of History to recall the horrors I felt in high school when I learned about bills like the Chinese Exclusion laws and alien land acts to see my state government trying to do similar laws... In the early 1900s, politicians from across this country used similar justifications to pass alien land laws and prohibit Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming land owners. These racist policies not only hurt immigrant families financially at that time but also severely exasperated violence, discrimination against Asian communities living in the United States... Regardless of the concerns which I do understand about where we got to the bill today, I don't want to have a discriminatory practice of the past being codified in Georgia law... Property ownership by certain noncitizens as a threat to National Security is a baseless claim with no evidence that they are causing harm... Members of the Asian communities are experiencing historic highs in discrimination and hate crimes in the modern discourse now... The Florida law has been enjoined by the 11th Circuit Court that will also hear this law if it is passed by Georgia... We just hope that you will reject this bill today or when this bill comes up for a vote. Thank you very much for your time." Time was not adequate for all who wished to speak at the hearing. Those who spoke in opposition to the bill included Koreans, Vietnamese, Latinos, and whites. The bill was not advanced to the next step of the process, pending on further discussion and negotiation. Watch a video of Ben Lydne's testimony at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya9zGuzHOMg (2:57). The Committee of 100 tracks federal and state alien land bills and maintains an interactive map at: https://bit.ly/3Hxta4B USDA Status Report on Foreign Investments in US Land Micah R. Brown, Staff Attorney of the National Agricultural Law Center at the US Department of Agriculture, gave a presentation on the history and current developments in anti-foreign land ownership laws to the SB 147 Roundtable. The presentation covers: · Historical context on how state laws vary widely without a generalized or uniform approach and how they developed unevenly at five different “political flashpoints” over ensuing decades/centuries including the period of 2021 to the present, · Current proposals in Congress to seek to control, prohibit, restrict, or increase oversight on foreign investments in U.S. agriculture, · Enactment of alien land law SB 383 in Arkansas; preliminary injunction against SB 264 in Florida, and Missouri Governor John Ashcroft ’s Executive Order 24-01 Read the presentation: https://bit.ly/49ve4IX CAPAC Denounces Efforts to Ban Chinese Immigrants from Owning Land in the U.S. On February 8, 2024, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) held a virtual press conference about the recent resurgence of land laws that would prohibit Chinese immigrants from purchasing or owning property in the United States, following a federal appeals court's temporary injunction. In the ruling, a federal judge noted that it violates the 14th amendment’s protection against discrimination. CAPAC members denounced the Republican-led attempts to restrict land ownership that are being pushed in Congress and in state legislatures across the nation, and they will uplift legislation aimed at stopping these efforts from moving forward. CAPAC has cautioned against history repeating itself through laws that ban land or property ownership based on an individual’s country of origin. For more information, contact Graeme Crews , (202) 597-2923 (Rep. Judy Chu) or Jordan Goldes , (202) 308-9691 (Rep. Grace Meng) New Warrantless Surveillance Bill Introduced in Congress According to The Hill on February 12, House Republicans unveiled a new package for reauthorizing and reforming the nation’s warrantless surveillance powers. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on noncitizens located abroad, is set to expire in April after a short-term extension.Monday’s text more closely aligns with the original proposal from the House Intelligence Committee over that of its Judiciary competitor, focusing on more reforms at the FBI to address misuse of the powerful spy tool. It does not include Judiciary’s hope for a warrant requirement — something deemed a red line for the intelligence community but nonetheless a top priority for privacy advocates in Congress.Though FISA 702 only allows the government to surveil foreigners, their communications with Americans are often swept up in the process, creating a database found to be misused by the FBI, which has already undertaken a number of reforms amid criticism.To privacy champions and advocates, a warrant is the only way to protect Americans’ rights. Complicating the bill’s consideration further are reports from Politico it may be partially considered during a closed session. “Make no mistake: a secret session is completely unnecessary. National security legislation is openly debated in every Congress. There have only been 6 secret sessions in the House since 1812,” Elizabeth Goitein , co-director of the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, wrote on X. “Secret law is anathema to democracies, and making law in secret is the next worst thing. Open debate is a core feature of our democratic system. But intelligence committee leaders prefer to work in the shadows because it gives them a strategic advantage.”Read The Hill report: https://bit.ly/3SYnvuU . US Heartland China Association Min Fan 范敏 , Executive Director of the US Heartland China Association (USHCA), introduced USHCA and described its mission and activities during the APA Justice monthly meeting on February 5, 2024.USHCA was started by the late Senator Adlai Stevenson , Illinois; it is almost 20 years old originally under the name of Midwest-US China Association. Bob Holden , former Governor of Missouri, is current Chair of USHCA. USHCA is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization. It does not lobby.USHCA is funded by American sources including membership dues, Heartland community supporters, private donations, grants from private foundations, corporate sponsors, and contributions from state governmental agencies.Through organizing people-to-people exchanges in culture, education, and business, USHCA promotes a stable and productive US-China relationship to protect and advance the interests of the American Heartland so that: · Farmers in the Heartland can continue to expand our exports to China. · Educational institutions in the Heartland can remain competitive and continue to attract the best talent from around the world, including China, · Companies headquartered in the Heartland can remain competitive in the global economy by continuing to do business in and sell products to China. · The Heartland community and leaders have the resources to better understand and engage with China. · Heartland students can have the opportunities to develop a global mindset through learning about the Chinese language and culture. There are a lot of bridges to the world. Where bridges exist, communities flourish. USHCA has a bi-partisan network of many former governors, ambassadors, and local officials. USHCA works with them to build community connections. In 2020, in the depth of the pandemic, USHCA was one of the first NGOs that brought people from the US and China together via Zoom to talk about education, public health, and development programs that are in the best interest of the Heartland community. Min sees some hesitation on both sides. The Chinese side is worried about being locked up in a small black room in the customs office. The US side is worried about being held hostage in China. There is fear and the other side looks strange after no exchanges for three years.USHCA believes that bringing back exchanges is very important. It received support from the Ford Foundation and the Luce Foundation to promote Yangtze River and Mississippi River city-to-city exchange on energy transition, climate change, and green economy. Six mayors coming from five different states in the Heartland visited Hong Kong, Wuhan, Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai.Min said there are politicians whose mindset is shut. There are also elected officials who are curious and interested in learning. The communities have a role to play.Her presentation is available here: https://bit.ly/3HTc5Cu . Her talk is included in this partial summary of the February APA Justice monthly meeting: https://bit.ly/3uuhm0b Muscatine, Iowa, Celebrates Lunar New Year According to several local reports , Muscatine and China celebrate almost four decades of friendship with Lunar New Year Celebration on February 9, 2024.The events featured performances from Chinese students, videos documenting Muscatine and China’s shared history, and speeches from local, national, and international ambassadors.“There’s probably not all positive rapport with China from some leaders. But we just want to get more people here so they can see the people and see the traditions,” said Sarah Lande, one of the local diplomats on the state of current Chinese-American diplomatic relations. Terry Branstad , former Iowa Governor and US Ambassador to China, commented in the event, "I think the more people get to know each other... the more they gain friendship and trust in each other and that can be good for both of our countries... We are the two largest economies in the world... if we can find ways to get along and work together... it benefits the whole world." People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping visited Iowa and stayed with Sarah Lande's home in Muscatine back in 1985. He has remained friends with several Iowans since. News and Activities for the Communities 1. APA Justice Community Calendar Upcoming Events: 2024/02/13-15 Senior Executives Association Senior Executive Leadership Summit2024/02/13 WHI: Advancing Educational Equity for AA and NHPI Students2024/02/13 Committee of 100: The Career Ceiling Challenges in Journalism 2024/02/27 President's Advisory Commission on AA and NHPIs Meeting and Solicitation for Oral and Written Comments2024/02/28 WHI: Community Engagement EventVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details. 2. Asian American Identity: At the Intersection of Perpetual Foreigner and Pop Culture Trendsetter WHAT: Asian American Identity: At the Intersection of Perpetual Foreigner and Pop Culture Trendsetter WHEN: March 6, 2024, 4:00 pm Pacific Time/7:00 pm Eastern Time (90 minutes) WHERE: Virtual Workshop HOST: 1990 Institute SPEAKERS: · Neil Ruiz, Head of New Research Initiatives, Pew Research Center · Ziyao Tian, Research Associate, Pew Research Center · Jeff Yang, author, journalist, businessman (Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now) · Margaret Yee, education consultant DESCRIPTION: This virtual Workshop aims to foster dialogue for better understanding of different cultures and contribute to a more inclusive representation of our communities as Americans. While prepared for middle and secondary school educators who teach Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Studies and/or Ethnic Studies in mind, this Workshop is open to all. REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/48lGsw1 Back View PDF February 14, 2024 Previous Newsletter Next Newsletter