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ACAPS:letter from 480 Chinese Am. professors & scientists, U. of MD.
Organization: ACAPS
Tag:
Sherry Chen
陈霞芬
Xi Xiaoxing
郗小星
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OP
05/13/2016
December 16, 2015
Honorable Loretta E. Lynch Attorney General
Dear Attorney General Lynch:
Dr. Chen and Dr. Xi's cases are only two of the many cases that have occurred in recent years involving Chinese-American scientists falsely charged as "spies" for China. There appears to be a pattern and practice of singling out Chinese-Americans by federal law enforcement and prosecutors in the name of fighting against espionage. We are very concerned that espionage threats from foreign nations are creating a climate in which both investigators and prosecutors are rushing into indictments against innocent Chinese-American scientists, calling into question civil rights protections.
If this pattern continues, it is going to create not only a chilling effect on Chinese-American lives but also a negative impact on this nation's science and engineering research communities including University of Maryland. Although Chinese-Americans make up for a small portion of the US population, they account for a large percentage of scientists and engineers across major research universities, national labs, and other research institutions. In early 2000, because of the injustice Dr. Wenho Lee, a Chinese-American scientist at the Los Alamos National Lab, suffered in the hands of the government (a very similar case as Chen and Xi's), a national boycott of the national labs was called, urging Asian American scientists to stop applying for jobs at the national labs. Consequently, new applicants to the national labs dropped off significantly and many Asian-American senior staff left for non-government sector or took early retirement. We are certain that if the current practice of unlawfully targeting Chinese-American professors and scientists continues, many Chinese- and other Asian-Americans will avoid working in technical areas that are vital to the success of this country's civilian and military industries, which will surely undermine this country's competitiveness in the long run.
Sincerely, ACAPS
PS: ACAPS is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonreligious organization at the University of Maryland for UMD faculty, scientists, and staff of Chinese heritage. ACAPS helps members of our community connect with, learn from, and support each other in order to better our research, work, and life at UMD.
PS: Please send any correspondence related to this letter to the ACAPS Spokesperson, Dr. Zhi-Long Chen, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; Email: zchen@rhsmith.umd.edu.
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