All charges against China Initiative defendant Gang Chen have been dismissed

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The China Initiative is a Justice Department program launched under the Trump administration to counter economic espionage and national security threats from the People's Republic of China.

According to an investigation by MIT Technology Review, the initiative has become more focused on prosecuting academics for research integrity issues rather than stealing trade secrets. The MIT Technology Review identified 77 cases of alleged violations of the Economic Espionage Act, but only 19 of them were found to have actually been committed.

The initiative has disproportionately affected scientists of Chinese heritage, who make up 130 of the 148 people charged.

There are eight research integrity cases that have been dismissed before trial. The trial of University of Tennessee–Knoxville professor Anming Hu, the first research integrity case to go before a jury, ended first in a mistrial and then a full acquittal, after Harvard professor Charles Lieber was found guilty on six charges of false statements and tax fraud.

There are research integrity cases in the China Initiative database.

A case of catalyzing.

Chen was indicted because of his prominence in his field and the seemingly routine activities for which he was being prosecuted, including collaborating with a Chinese university at the direction of his home institution. A group of MIT faculty wrote a letter in support of their colleague, Gang Chen, and their concerns about how their own activities could draw government scrutiny.

Margaret Lewis, a law professor at Seton Hall University who has written about the China Initiative, says the end of the criminal case is great news for Professor Chen and his defense team. He was first questioned at the airport two years ago and indicted a year ago. Even when charges are dropped, the human cost is still intense.

She believes that the Justice Department will soon make a statement ending the China Initiative.

A senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project says that the China Initiative won't be enough. The policies of the Justice Department allow racial profiling in the name of national security.

Civil rights groups are not the only ones speaking out. The initiative has been criticized by all sides over the past year. Ninety members of Congress have requested that Attorney General Garland investigate concerns about racial profiling, and former DOJ officials have advocated for a change in direction as well.

John Demers, the former head of the Justice Department division that oversees the initiative, favored a proposal that would allow researchers to reveal previously undisclosed ties with no fear of prosecution. Andrew Lelling, the former US District Attorney for Massachusetts who brought charges against Chen, argued that the part of the program targeting academics should be shut down. Four research integrity cases are scheduled to go to trial this spring.

Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the DOJ, told MIT Technology Review in an email last week that the DOJ is reviewing its approach to counter threats posed by the PRC government and expects to provide more information in the coming weeks.