NBC ASIAN AMERICA: “Asian American groups call on Biden to end controversial China Initiative Advocates say the Trump-era national security program to address Chinese economic espionage unfairly targets ethnic Chinese scientists and harms their families.

“Over the past year, Asian American advocacy groups have increased pressure on the Biden administration to end the initiative, which they say unfairly targets ethnic Chinese scientists and brings emotional and financial harm to their families. 

“’The China Initiative impacts Americans, permanent residents, immigrants, international students and visiting scholars,’ said Gisela Kusakawa, a staff attorney for the civil rights group Asian Americans Advancing Justice, or AAAJ. ‘It’s based on the premise that all scientists of Chinese descent or [who] have connections to China should be treated with suspicion.’ A year ago, AAAJ launched the Anti-Racial Profiling Project to persuade lawmakers to end the China Initiative and assist people targeted by the Justice Department. The group has provided legal and advocacy support to more than 70 academics, many of whom lost their jobs.

“Thu Nguyen, the executive director of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the program has created a climate of fear that could trigger a brain drain in academia. The growing threat of racial profiling in the U.S., she said, has already pushed some talented scientists to look for jobs back in China. The China Initiative, she said, affects not only professors and working scientists but also students, many of whom may hesitate to apply for scholarships or pursue careers in science and technology out of fear of prosecution. In recent months, OCA has been lobbying lawmakers to end the program. In November, the group visited senators and mobilized chapter members to speak out about the issues at legislative sessions.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC: On May 29, 2020, six armed FBI agents raided Professor Shaorong Liu’s home, interrogated him and his wife, and arrested them. Professor Liu, who teaches at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the University of Oklahoma, and his wife were charged with stealing years of research funding, even though they did the research, resulting in over a dozen academic articles and a U.S. Patent.In our latest blog, hear from Professor Liu’s daughter, Di Liu, about the devastating impact being targeted by the government’s racial bias and profiling through the “China Initiative” had on her family.”My parents have lived here in the U.S. for most of their lives. They are proud American citizens. They are not spies. They are academics who have committed their lives to improving life for everyone. Why has this man-made tragedy been forced upon them? What have they done to deserve the scorn, rather than protection of their own government?”Read the full blog here: bit.ly/diliublog. #StopProfilingUs

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC: A new study shows that over 50% of scientists of Chinese descent working in the U.S., regardless of citizenship, fear they are under surveillance by the U.S. government. Read our Anti-Racial Profiling Project Intern Alex Liang’s latest on the reverberating effects of the “China Initiative” within the scientific community, and the dangers of it coming at a time when the pandemic and climate change have become predominant threats to Americans’ health and prosperity.

Why Ending the Justice Department’s “China Initiative” is Vital to U.S. Security