[..]More Chinese academics are choosing to leave the U.S., citing a more hostile working environment. Over 1,400 Chinese academics gave up their U.S. affiliation in 2021, representing a 22% jump from the year before, according to data compiled by Princeton University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 2018, the Trump administration launched the China Initiative to investigate allegations of U.S.-based scientists transferring advanced technologies to China. Academics criticized the Initiative for chilling scientific cooperation and deterring Chinese academics from moving to or staying in the U.S.
Gang Chen, an MIT professor who was charged with espionage under the China Initiative in 2021, said the program brought “unwarranted fear to the academic community” after the charges were dropped a year later. The Biden administration ended the initiative in February 2022, citing a perception that it unfairly targeted people of Chinese origin or ethnicity.
Five months after the espionage charges were dropped, Chen helped discover what might be the “best semiconductor material ever found,” according to MIT. [..]
If you read more about the Gang Chen case, it's really terrifying. The FBI carried out an armed raid on his house early in the morning, as if he were some sort of drug lord or terrorist.
It turned out that the FBI had absolutely nothing on Gang Chen. For example, they accused him of personally accepting millions of dollars from a Chinese university. The money actually went to MIT as part of a partnership between the two universities, and Gang Chen was just in charge of the project on MIT's side. In other words, Gang Chen was accused of doing his job. The FBI could have known that, because it was all public information. It looks like there was a high level of incompetence on the side of the FBI, probably mixed with career ambition to capture a big fish, possibly also with a certain level of racism.
Glad to finally see some push back on China. Any little bit helps. Even if we were on perfectly good terms, there’s no reason to put ourselves in such a vulnerable position.
This interesting bit at the end:
[..]More Chinese academics are choosing to leave the U.S., citing a more hostile working environment. Over 1,400 Chinese academics gave up their U.S. affiliation in 2021, representing a 22% jump from the year before, according to data compiled by Princeton University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 2018, the Trump administration launched the China Initiative to investigate allegations of U.S.-based scientists transferring advanced technologies to China. Academics criticized the Initiative for chilling scientific cooperation and deterring Chinese academics from moving to or staying in the U.S.
Gang Chen, an MIT professor who was charged with espionage under the China Initiative in 2021, said the program brought “unwarranted fear to the academic community” after the charges were dropped a year later. The Biden administration ended the initiative in February 2022, citing a perception that it unfairly targeted people of Chinese origin or ethnicity.
Five months after the espionage charges were dropped, Chen helped discover what might be the “best semiconductor material ever found,” according to MIT. [..]