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The arrest of Gang Chen has provoked intense concerns at MIT and beyond. This reporting by @EllenBarryNYT captures the complexities and controversies of the charges against him, which appear troubling and disproportionate given the available information. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/us/mit-scientist-charges.html?smid=tw-share
A letter drafted and signed by many of his colleagues at MIT, which is worth reading in full, highlights their concerns on the case, including the degree to which the charges involve what are typically "considered normal academic and research activities." https://twitter.com/zhigangsuo/status/1352584589445902336?s=20
These latest charges occur through the @TheJusticeDept China Initiative, which has sought to counter economic espionage. While this effort tackles very real, serious threats, its framing and messaging have provoked serious concerns about undue profiling. https://www.justice.gov/opa/information-about-department-justice-s-china-initiative-and-compilation-china-related
As @MargaretKLewis has warned in her excellent research on the topic, "The Department of Justice is not making up a threat. It is, however, framing that threat in a problematic way." https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3600580
There are compelling rationales to "reassess and reframe" the "China Initiative" going forward, at the very least, as @MargaretKLewis argued in this recent commentary. https://usali.org/usali-perspectives-blog/time-to-reassess-and-reframe-the-us-governments-china-initiative
I'd also raised the idea of an independent assessment of the track record of U.S. law enforcement on cases involving allegations of tech transfer in previous testimony to @USCC_GOV, which I'd argue again is more urgent in light of the current concerns. https://www.cnas.org/publications/congressional-testimony/chinese-military-innovation-in-artificial-intelligence
On Jan. 5, @AAAJ_AAJC sent a letter calling upon Biden administration to end the China Initiative and take measures across government to combat bias against Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists. These recommendations merit attention—and action. https://advancingjustice-aajc.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Letter%20to%20President-elect%20Biden%20Re%20the%20China%20Initiative.pdf
These concerns of civil rights and the call to live up to our ideals as a country should concern us all as Americans. Moreover, intense or unfair scrutiny of Chinese-born scientists also threatens US strengths in innovation, as @osusiaprof has highlighted. https://theconversation.com/intense-scrutiny-of-chinese-born-researchers-in-the-us-threatens-innovation-153688
