The Trump administration created the China Initiative in 2018 with a stated goal of addressing national security concerns, namely cybersecurity and trade secrets. The initiative was instead used to punish academics and researchers with any ties to Chinese institutions, disproportionately affecting those in the Asian-American community. The result was a policy, based on xenophobia, implemented against a particular group of scientists simply because of their shared heritage—something similar to the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II. The DOJ did not seem to consider or prioritize the interests of open research and global scientific progress.

During the course of the effort to pursue research professors from China (many of whom are U.S. citizens), the DOJ charged dozens of scientists with crimes. They attempted to prosecute University of Tennessee (UT-Knoxville) professor Anming Hu and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Gang Chen under the initiative, albeit unsuccessfully. In many cases, the only accusation was the non-disclosure of ties to Chinese institutions when applying for federal grant money for their scientific research leaving numerous foreign-born and connected scientists wondering whether they would be next. Typically, there lacked any real evidence that the scientists did anything more than hold positions at Chinese institutions (sometimes merely titular) or conduct work for Chinese companies.

In the case of Dr. Chen from MIT, he was accused of hiding ties to China after failing to disclose affiliations on a Department of Energy (DOE) grant. Only after Dr. Chen was removed from his office in handcuffs and jailed did the DOE determine that prosecution was misplaced and Dr. Chen had not in fact been required to disclose any such affiliations.

As for Dr. Hu at UT-Knoxville, he was accused of being a Chinese spy based on a part-time professorship at a Chinese university that was allegedly undisclosed on a NASA grant application. In fact, the position was fully disclosed on the required paperwork and was also listed on Dr. Hu’s website, yet he was arrested and fired by UT. The DOJ twice attempted to prosecute him for fraud, the first attempt ending in a hung jury. U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan dismissed the second prosecution in September 2021, finding that no reasonable jury would find that Dr. Hu’s professorship barred him from working on NASA-funded research.

What’s Next?

AAG Olsen noted that the DOJ has recently considered the civil rights concerns brought to national attention by the prosecutions and the damage that was done to the scientific community. He acknowledged the perception that these actions had targeted people with racial, ethnic, or familial ties to China and the dangerous precedent that such an initiative sets.

Going forward, concerns regarding scientists and national security will be assessed on the basis of “intent and materiality, as well as the nexus to our national or economic security.” While this declaration is a step in the right direction, most importantly for these researchers, the White House has released new guidance for federal agencies regarding the correction of incomplete or inaccurate disclosures. Notice and clear instructions concerning voluntary disclosure would have gone far to prevent many of the egregious missteps taken by the DOJ.

The Research Misconduct team at Cohen Seglias will continue to monitor this situation and those scientists affected in the coming months. The damage to the security and trust of the scientific community in the U.S. will take much time to be repaired.