national security, it evolved into institutionalized racial profiling of people of Chinese heritage. While the China Initiative’s aim may have been to combat Chinese economic espionage and threats to U.S. But stoking fear and suspicion about China’s threat could lead to worst-case scenario assumptions about anyone connected to China and reduce space for cooperation in areas of bilateral interest, such as addressing the planetary threat of climate change. To be clear, there are legitimate threats China poses to the United States, such as government-backed industrial espionage, intellectual property theft, and covert disinformation campaigns. Call it “the Vincent Chin Initiative,” named after the 27-year-old Chinese American who was beaten to death by auto workers frustrated by job losses from Japan’s car industry. In the immediate term, the Justice Department should begin an educational program for its employees about the history of discrimination against Asian Americans, especially during times of overheated rhetoric against Asian countries. This is a welcome development but falls woefully short of addressing the complex ways that anti-China sentiment is metastasizing in the United States under the banner of national security.Ī systematic assessment of the damage - both direct and indirect - that Asian American researchers faced due to the China Initiative is needed. Olsen announced that an anti-economic espionage program launched in 2018 called the “China Initiative” would cease to exist. Yesterday, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Matthew G.
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