China Initiative

The China Initiative was a program by the United States Department of Justice to prosecute perceived Chinese spies in American research and industry, in order to combat economic espionage. Launched in November 2018, the program targeted hundreds of prominent Chinese-American academics and scientists, of which an estimated 250 lost their jobs, and many more had their careers negatively impacted. The persecution also contributed to at least one suicide.

The prosecutions contributed to a rise in incidents of violence against Asian Americans from 2019 to 2020 and has been criticized as racially biased and ineffective.[1] Some of the cases under the China Initiative were based on false evidence provided by the FBI.[2] The Department of Justice claimed to have ended the program on February 23, 2022, mostly as a result of accusations that the China Initiative was racially profiling Chinese American citizens and other residents of Chinese origin or ancestry,[3] however, there have been calls by the US government to revive the program. The initiative resulted in a large exodus of influential Chinese-American scientists, many of whom decided to move to China.[4]

  1. ^ Benner, Katie (2022-02-23). "Justice Dept. to End Trump-Era Initiative to Deter Chinese Threats". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-12-19. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Choi20210624 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference politico was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "China has become a scientific superpower". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-10-04.