[Disclaimer: The content of this article is written with authoritative sources and personal opinions]
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In recent years, with the changes in Sino-US relations, the United States offensive against China has significantly intensified, especially in the fields of science and technology, business and academia.
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This "silent war" has not been dominated by traditional economic or military sanctions, but has been gradually unfolded through a series of covert but far-reaching means, especially under the China Action Plan, launched in November 2018.
The plan is seen as a representative move by the United States government to fully cooperate with its containment policy toward China, and behind it is to expose Chinese scholars to the ever-expanding "espionage threat." Since then, the Ministry of Justice in United States 94 districts has been required to produce one or two "cases" each year, with or without actual evidence, in order to show the "effect".
Against this backdrop, hundreds of scholars and scientists of Chinese descent have been drawn into the shadows of United States justice. In United States of these measures, China has repeatedly reiterated its position and stressed the need to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and people's security. This series of operations not only cast a shadow on the academic and technical exchanges between the United States and China, but also attracted global attention.
When the U.S. announced its launch in 2018, many did not anticipate the far-reaching impact of the China Initiative, which was strongly political from the outset, but proved to be more than just a screening of "Chinese spies," but an indiscriminate and unrestricted campaign of arrests.
Chinese scholars, international students, and even employees of Chinese-funded companies in the United States may be targeted by "fishing law enforcement" as long as they are involved in China-related technology and business fields. The so-called "fishing law enforcement" is not only a simple case verification, but also an active search for targets, and even using some marginal or suspicious evidence to lure these Chinese people to "take the bait", and then further expand and accuse.
This law enforcement method of United States has brought about an invisible chilling effect, making many Chinese researchers in the United States feel that their future is bleak, and even leave United States because of this.
In all cases, Tan Hongjin's story became a typical example. Hongjin Tan, a Ph.D. in materials science from Caltech, worked on energy storage technology at Phillips 66, an energy giant in the United States. At the end of 2018, Tan decided to resign and return to China for development, but he didn't expect this decision to become the beginning of his nightmare. Just a week after Mr. Tan submitted his resignation, the F.B.I. surrounded his U.S. residence in full force and forcibly searched him.
The reason for the investigation turned out to be a company USB flash drive that he had accidentally found at home. Although the company has never made any security requirements for the use of the USB flash drive, Tan Hongjin took the initiative to hand over the USB flash drive out of caution, but it was this behavior that became the "evidence" for the company's leadership to report the case to the FBI.
The FBI immediately announced the arrest of Tan, and the United States Department of Justice issued a statement the day after the incident, accusing him of stealing $1 billion worth of next-generation battery technology from Phillips 66.
Shocked and outraged by the sudden accusations, Tan used his savings to hire a professional lawyer to handle the complex case in order to prove his innocence. But the lawsuit affected him far more than expected, as United States courts not only initially denied his parole application, but also barred him from incommunicado and placed him in a detention center in dire conditions for 11 months.
The long period of detention has greatly affected Tan Hongjin's health, and United States prosecutors have also used this method to exert great psychological pressure on him. In addition, the U.S. side has continued to delay the litigation process on the grounds that the electronic devices that Tan Hongjin may have come into contact with need to be tested, and at the same time made Tan's lawyer bear the high cost of the review, which is expected to be as high as $400,000.
The financial pressure and mental devastation forced Tan Hongjin to choose to partially plead guilty under tremendous pressure, but he always denied that he was instructed by any government or stole trade secrets.
For the Tan Hongjin case, the United States media reports are full of selectivity, they take Tan's "confession" as the focus of the news, not only ignoring the complex situation behind it, but also avoiding the unfairness in the process of law enforcement by the United States.
For many people, this report seems to confirm the image of Tan Hongjin as a "spy", and it also makes more people misunderstand Chinese Americans in the United States because of this. This unfair treatment has made the Tan Hongjin case one of the most far-reaching cases since the implementation of the China Action Plan.
The fallout of the China Action Plan is not limited to Tan Hongjin alone. It is understood that since the launch of the program, a total of 87 Chinese scientists in scientific research institutions in the United States have been subjected to varying degrees of scrutiny. Of these scientists, 246 were labeled as "problematic," and 103 of them had their careers devastated.
Many of them have been charged with felony charges of "espionage" simply for minor omissions or other minor acts. However, many cases end up with no valid evidence and end with misdemeanors such as tax evasion or misrepresentation. However, the impact of these accusations on the respondents is irreparable, and many Chinese scientists in the United States have to give up their research careers or even leave United States, which also damages the local scientific research ecology of United States.
The relevant person in charge of the United States admitted that this plan has to some extent exacerbated discrimination against Chinese Americans in United States society, and officials of the FBI's counterintelligence department also admitted that this action has had a negative impact on the Chinese American community. Although the program was forced to terminate in 2022, its impact on Chinese scientists and international students in the United States continues. Because there are still many cases that have not yet been concluded, academic exchanges and scientific research cooperation between China and the United States have also been seriously hampered by this plan.
In the face of this series of unfair treatment, the Chinese government has repeatedly made clear its position. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, China's national security organs resolutely oppose the hegemonic behavior of the United States and emphasize that it will safeguard national sovereignty and the legitimate rights and interests of the people through legitimate means. This statement is not only a response to the hardline attitude of the United States, but also a demonstration to Chinese scholars in the United States that the Chinese government will stand firmly behind them and support their legitimate rights and interests.
On the surface, this policy of United States is to safeguard its national security, but in fact, it is more of an obstruction of normal academic exchanges between China and the United States, and a discriminatory suppression of the Chinese community in the United States.
In this game, United States has not only lost a large number of outstanding scientific research talents, but also further deepened the estrangement between China and the United States, and it is worth considering whether this approach is beneficial to the long-term interests of United States.
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