US officials also detailed what they’ve discovered about the broader spying operation they say the Chinese government has undertaken using a fleet of high-altitude surveillance balloons across the globe.īut senior Biden officials faced pointed questions on Capitol Hill from lawmakers in public hearings and classified briefings as Congress is demanding more information about why the balloon wasn’t shot down sooner. Some kind of announcement may be coming soon: DOJ spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle told MIT Technology Review in an email last week that the Justice Department is “reviewing our approach to countering threats posed by the PRC government“ and anticipates “completing the review and providing additional information in the coming weeks.Biden administration officials disclosed new information Thursday about the capabilities of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the United States last week and what they are learning as the FBI begins analyzing the parts recovered after the balloon was shot down Saturday.
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Six more research integrity cases remain pending, with four scheduled to go to trial this spring. Meanwhile, in response to MIT Technology Review’s reporting, 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. John Demers, the former head of the Justice Department division that oversees the initiative, reportedly favored a proposal for amnesty programs that would allow researchers to disclose previously undisclosed ties with no fear of prosecution. Ninety members of Congress have requested that Attorney General Merrick Garland investigate concerns about racial profiling, and former DOJ officials have advocated for a change in direction as well.
Over the past year, criticism of the initiative has ramped up from all sides. It is not just academics and civil rights groups that are speaking out. The human cost is intense even when charges are dropped.” “But let’s not forget that he was first questioned at the airport two years ago and indicted one year ago. “The end of the criminal case is tremendous news for Professor Chen, and his defense team deserves accolades for their work,” said Margaret Lewis, a law professor at Seton Hall University who has written about the China Initiative. “We are all Gang Chen,” a group of MIT faculty wrote at the time, expressing both their support for their colleague and their concerns about how their own activities could draw government scrutiny.
Research Integrity cases from MIT Technology Review's China Initiative Database A catalyzing caseĬhen’s indictment raised awareness of, and opposition to, the initiative because of both his prominence in his field and the seemingly routine activities for which he was being prosecuted, including collaborating with a Chinese university at the behest of his home institution.
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Last month, Harvard professor Charles Lieber was found guilty on six charges of false statements and tax fraud, while 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. Chen’s is the eighth research integrity case to be dismissed before trial.
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