Biden’s Justice Department TERMINATES Trump’s National Security Program to Combat Chinese Espionage Following Complaints of Discrimination against Asian-American Professors and Failed to Prosecute Scholars
The Ministry of Justice is giving up China An initiative, a national security program designed to tackle China’s economic espionage in the United States after a series of lawsuits collapsed amid complaints that it fueled suspicion of Chinese Americans.
It was launched by the Trump administration three years ago amid fears of theft of intellectual property in research universities.
Matthew Olson, assistant attorney general for national security, announced a change in strategy on Wednesday.
He said it was followed by a lengthy month-long review that found it was preventing universities from attracting the best talent.
Instead, he said the work would continue as part of a broader strategy that includes espionage from Iran and North Korea.
“Anything that gives the impression that the Ministry of Justice applies different standards based on race or ethnicity, harms the department and our efforts and harms the public,” he told reporters.
“I believe that the Chinese initiative is driven by genuine national security concerns. But I also mean that the department must maintain the trust of the people we serve.
Matthew Olsen, assistant chief prosecutor for national security, said on Wednesday that the justice ministry was ending its “chinese initiative” following the collapse of high-ranking cases and that his conversion to one nationality means racist
In one of the most high-profile cases, the department dropped its case against Gang Chen, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was accused of failing to reveal ties to the Chinese government in a grant application.
The program was created in 2018 under the leadership of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a way to thwart China’s aggressive efforts to steal American intellectual property and spy on American industry and research.
The Ministry of Justice has said it is responsible for major lawsuits, and its website lists nearly 60 cases, including hacking and false statements in grant applications.
But cases have also been withdrawn or dismissed by judges.
In January, for example, the department dropped its case against Gang Chen, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Chen was arrested on January 14, 2021, one of the last days of former President Trump.
He was accused of failing to disclose ties with the Chinese government in applications for grants to the Ministry of Energy in 2017. Chen denied the allegations.
Prosecutors dropped the case a year later when it became clear that the Ministry of Energy had said that Chen was not obliged to provide the information in his form.
In an interview with New York Times after the charge was dropped, he said it was difficult to celebrate the outcome.
“We’re all losers, aren’t we?” He said. “My reputation has been ruined.”
“My students, my doctoral students changed their careers. They changed to other groups.
“MIT, the country, the United States, we are losing. I can’t calculate the loss. This loss cannot be calculated.
His example was not the only one.
In September, a federal judge dismissed allegations against a professor at the University of Tennessee, accused of hiding his connection to a Chinese university while receiving grants from NASA.
But administration officials say the threat from China remains.
FBI Director Christopher Ray said in a speech last month that the threat came from China
was more “brazen” than ever, with the FBI opening new cases to counter Chinese intelligence operations every 12 hours.
“I’m not taking any tools from the table here,” Olson said. In a speech at the Antonine Scalia Law School at George Mason University, he noted that despite the diverse set of threats, “it is clear that the Chinese government stands apart.”
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