The DOJ’s China Initiative is a xenophobic threat to America’s economy and our core ideals
Last week, prosecutors recommended that the U.S. Department of Justice drop charges against Gang Chen, an MIT professor accused of concealing his ties to China while seeking federal grant money. Chen was charged in January 2021 as part of the department’s “China Initiative,” a program launched during the Trump administration and presented as an effort to combat economic espionage and spying by China.
But far from keeping America safe, the China Initiative threatens our economy and our core ideals.
Since launching in 2018, the China Initiative has become a top priority for U.S. law enforcement and domestic counterintelligence. Yet, as a recent report from MIT Technology Review points out, details of the program are vague. The first country-specific program of its kind, the report explains that “the DOJ has not publicly defined the initiative or answered many basic questions about it.” And although the secrecy…
