Portrayal of Chinese as spy risks rebuked

Recent testimony at a congressional hearing singling out Chinese students and scholars as a threat to US national security has prompted a strong response by Chinese-American politicians and other groups.

The comments at issue were made on Feb 13 in Washington during the US Senate Intelligence Committee's annual open hearing on the greatest threats facing the US.

During the session, a host of intelligence community leaders shared concerns about dangers around the globe.

US Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida who ran for president in 2016, and FBI Director Christopher Wray discussed whether Chinese students in the US could be covertly gathering intelligence for their government back home.

At one point Rubio asked, "What … is the counterintelligence risk posed to US national security from Chinese students, particularly those in advanced programs in the sciences and mathematics?"

Wray responded that Chinese students and scholars pose a national security threat that requires "a whole-of-society response by us".

Democratic US representatives Judy Chu and Ted Lieu of California and Grace Meng of New York released statements on Feb 15 in response.

"I condemn these remarks entirely and reject these dangerous attempts to build a case that Chinese students, professors and scholars should be viewed with more suspicion than others," Chu wrote.

Chu agreed that espionage threats from foreign countries should be taken seriously.

"However, Senator Rubio's leading question and FBI Director Wray's sweepingly broad response were completely irresponsible generalizations that attempt to paint all Chinese students and scholars as spies for China," Chu wrote.

She provided the examples of Sherry Chen and Xi Xiaoxing, two Chinese-American scientists who were accused of espionage by the FBI only to have the charges dropped without explanation.

"This caused irreparable harm to their careers, reputations and lives, and many Asian-American students, scientists and scholars now fear that they may be subjected to the same discrimination," Chu wrote.

Chu called for the highest-ranking law enforcement officials in the US to not create an environment that encourages individuals to view Chinese and Chinese Americans with more suspicion.

"There are certain policies and actions by our government that, while directed at foreign nationals, could affect Americans who happen to be of certain ethnicities," Lieu wrote.

"I called on FBI Director Wray to clarify his comments and make a strong statement that Chinese-Americans are not viewed by the FBI as any more suspicious than any other American," he wrote.

"The intelligence community, rightfully, should always be concerned about foreign nationals who have access to our most sensitive secrets," wrote Meng. "That, however, never excuses an attempt to categorize an entire group of people as a threat to our national security."

She said "the narrative is unfortunately not new, and should not be perpetuated by our country's highest law enforcement officials".

The Committee of 100, a non-profit leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, also released a statement about last week's testimony.

"The Committee of 100 is unequivocally committed to America's national security and recognizes the importance of ensuring our nation is able to counteract perils from espionage. However, C100 supports fair and appropriate investigation, prosecution and punishment of espionage that is based on the evidence and not on profiling or suspicion based on race, ethnicity or national origin.

"For over 160 years, despite the stereotype of being 'perpetual foreigners,' Chinese immigrants, many of whom first arrived as students, have contributed immeasurably to the richness and success of the United States, including eight Chinese Americans winning Nobel prizes in the sciences while working in America," said Frank H. Wu, C100 chairman. "In every field from the arts to the sciences, business to entertainment, politics to sports, Chinese Americans are loyal and hard-working citizens no different than their neighbors."

The United Chinese Americans (UCA), a nationwide non-profit and nonpartisan group, said that the remarks "are deeply troubling and of grave concerns among Chinese Americans and Asian Americans".

"UCA members are proud Americans. We uphold vigorous national security standards. However, painting all Chinese students and indeed Chinese in America with such a broad brush as a national security threat is paranoid, inflammatory, un-American and simply wrong," the group said in a statement.

Berlin Fang, a US-based columnist and literary translator, told China Daily that "if espionage issues are encountered, they should be tackled case by case instead of smearing an entire ethnic group and creating social divisions".

"Even if there are competitions and conflicts between countries, the students and scholars, most of whom are innocent, should not be implicated," he said.

Fang believes that the remarks can stir panic and suspicion on US campuses.

"Many American teachers have little understanding of China and the Chinese culture. So they might become suspicious after hearing that; the teaching atmosphere could be destroyed," he said.

On social media site Sina Weibo, the user Global BusinessmanW said: "There will be more obstacles for Chinese to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and enter the high-tech industry (in the US), not to mention becoming corporate executives."

"Half of China's top students come to study in the US, and have made a great contribution to US science and technology," user Fonsony wrote.

"They were lying through their teeth and damaging the interests of others for their own sake. They are the real threats to the future of the US," user Hbyzy said.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com