the u.s. house of representatives wants to revive the "china action plan", and asian american groups condemn it
2024-09-14
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this article is reproduced from [global times new media];
according to the u.s. asamnews website on september 12, on september 11 local time, the u.s. house of representatives passed a bill initiated by republican congressman lance gooden of texas by 237 votes to 180, attempting to restore the "china action plan."
the "china action plan" was launched by the administration of former us president trump in 2018, targeting chinese researchers working in the united states or american scientists who have exchanges and cooperation with china. according to incomplete statistics from the mit technology review, as of 2021, the "china action plan" has prosecuted a total of 148 people, of which 88% of the defendants are of chinese descent or chinese. the plan was suspended in 2022 due to strong opposition in the us academic community.
after the u.s. house of representatives passed the bill on the 11th, several asian american groups expressed condemnation, including stop asian hate, asian americans advancing justice (aajc) and asian american scholars forum (aasf). these organizations said in a joint statement that the "china action plan" has "destroyed the careers and lives of many scholars, scientists and researchers who have been wrongly investigated and accused. the 'china action plan' has not only destroyed individuals and their families, but also exacerbated the already documented chilling effect in the academic community and jeopardized the united states' ability to retain and attract diverse talent. we strongly condemn the house of representatives for passing the bill and call on the senate to refuse to advance the bill."
in addition, the congressional asian pacific american caucus (capac) and the committee of 100 also expressed opposition to the bill. the committee of 100 stated: "the china action plan is a failed plan that has fostered racial hatred, xenophobia and suspicion of the asian pacific american community, especially chinese americans. restarting this plan will bring a shock wave of fear to the asian pacific american community."
capac chairwoman, democratic congresswoman judy chu, issued a statement saying, “i am outraged by the deceptively named bill passed today that will undermine our nation’s security and provoke racial discrimination against immigrants and chinese and asian americans.” the statement said, “this destructive bill is an attempt to restart the trump-era ‘china initiative,’ which is based on the prosecution and containment of economic espionage cases, but in reality is investigating and arresting innocent asian american scientists simply because they are of chinese descent. this mccarthy-style political persecution by our own government has irreversibly destroyed the lives and careers of many people, while having a chilling effect on academia, continuing to undermine america’s global competitive advantage and ability to stay at the forefront of scientific progress.”
