Today, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its decision to dismantle the controversial “China Initiative.” The DOJ initiative has resulted in widespread targeting and racial profiling of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and researchers, particularly those of Chinese descent, in spite of its supposed purpose to combat economic espionage and trade secret theft from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
In recent years, countless Asian American and immigrant scientists, including Anming Hu, Gang Chen, and Franklin Tao, have been subjected to mass surveillance, unjust investigations, and misguided prosecutions. The “China Initiative” incited fear that many individuals are targeted based on their ethnicity rather than evidence of criminal activity, leaving lives and careers ruined, and driving widespread distrust of the Department of Justice and our government.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, together with a coalition of organizations have been advocating for an end to this harmful Initiative and the racial profiling of Asian Americans and immigrants. We led a coalition of civil rights, academic, and community groups to meet with the White House and various federal agencies and led the first letter with 68 other civil rights and community groups to then President-elect Biden to raise our concerns with the “China Initiative.” Through the Anti-Racial Profiling Project, we have worked on the ground providing legal referrals to directly impacted persons in 26 states, and educated Congress, media, and thousands of community members through Know Your Rights training and webinars.
These efforts would not have been possible without the support of the community at large and the diverse coalition of Asian American organizations, civil rights groups, science associations, and academic groups. We commend the DOJ for listening to our community’s concerns and ending the “China Initiative,”but our work is not over.
Moving forward, Advancing Justice – AAJC vows to watch the federal government as it pivots away from the “China Initiative” rubric. We call for transparency from the government in implementing structural changes to address concerns of racial bias and unjust targeting from our communities. We will continue to push for changes across the government, including the re-training of investigators, prosecutors, and other government staff to address racial bias not only against Asian Americans and immigrants, but also against other communities of color.
The “China Initiative” has deeply harmed our communities and instilled widespread fear among Asian Americans and Asian immigrants across the country. For many Asian American and immigrant scientists and researchers who faced unjust charges, we call for accountability from the government on how they will remedy those who have been arrested, lost their jobs, and had their lives destroyed.
As we stand in this moment and reflect on the strides we have made and the work ahead, we thank our community and allies from Asian American organizations, civil rights groups, science associations, and academic groups for their tremendous support in advocating for an end to the “China Initiative” and extend our deepest gratitude to everyone in our communities who spoke out and supported those impacted and victimized by this program.
