More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers have told Congressional leaders to halt a potential revival of the China Initiative, a controversial Trump administration-era plan that once led to accusations of racial profiling against scientists of Asian descent in the United States. He urged Congressional leaders to do so.
In a letter first shared with NBC News on Monday, a group of lawmakers asked House and Senate leaders to remove language written by Republican lawmakers related to a major House spending bill calling for the program to be reinstated. asked to do so. The China Initiative, established to stop China from stealing science and technology secrets, is set to expire in 2022 following significant concerns from the academic community about the discrimination and targeting of scientists of Asian descent.
Democratic lawmakers took issue with the language used in the bill’s explanatory document, HR 5893. A document accompanying the bill and further explaining its rationale calls the previous decision to end the initiative “grossly irresponsible.” Republicans on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which is behind the document, also called on the Justice Department’s National Security Division to re-establish an bureau with a similar mission. In another section of the document, lawmakers said ending the program would be “unwise.”
“This decision is an example of the weakness of a Justice Department that cares more about being politically correct than protecting the American people, and is an example of the weakness of a Department of Justice that cares more about being politically correct than protecting the American people, and is an example of the weakness of a Department of Justice that cares more about being politically correct than protecting the American people, and is an example of the weakness of a Department of Justice that values political correctness over the protection of the American people, and is an example of the weakness of a Department of Justice that values political correctness over the protection of the American people, and joins other federal governments who have taken action in recognition of the extraordinary long-term threat that China poses to the United States.” “This is in stark contrast to the actions of government agencies in the United States,” the briefing said.
“The budget is an expression of our priorities and values,” the letter said, along with Representatives Grace Meng (New York), Judy Chu (California), and Maisie Hirono. Sen. (D-Hawaii) took the lead. “Reviving the China Initiative would be a misallocation of resources and a setback for civil rights.”
And Meng warned that restarting the China Initiative could put a target on the backs of Asian Americans.
“The China Initiative was done at the expense of innocent Asian Americans by questioning their loyalties and reinforcing negative and harmful stereotypes,” she said in a news release. “I can’t go back to this.”
In a letter Monday, a group of lawmakers objected to the characterization of the China initiative in briefing materials and called for condemnation of the language surrounding the plan’s reopening. They argued that the program had serious consequences for the Asian American community and that there was little transparency from the Justice Department.
“This prosecutorial initiative was a blunt weapon used against someone with ‘some connection to China,'” the letter said. “An unacceptably large number of the aforementioned cases resulted in charges being dropped, dismissed, or acquitted because prosecutors were unable to prove the charges.”
Under a Trump administration-era initiative, Asian American academics and scientists are being falsely accused of espionage. One such scientist, hydrologist Sherry Chen, was arrested in 2014 and awarded more than $1.5 million in damages for false prosecution and termination from her job at the National Weather Service. Ta. Another scientist, Gan Cheng, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had charges dropped in 2014. The study began in January 2022, but researchers have since stayed away from federally funded research due to fears of racial profiling.
Many others have reported similar fears. A 2021 survey by the nonprofit Committee of 100 found that more than 50% of Chinese scientists in the U.S. currently feel “considerable fear or anxiety” about being under government surveillance. .
In a speech at George Mason University in 2022, Justice Department National Security Director Matthew Olsen spoke about ending the China Initiative, citing previous concerns about discrimination, racial profiling, and impact on the research community. .
“While I remain focused on the evolving and significant threat posed by the Chinese government, I have concluded that this effort is not the right approach,” he said.
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This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com