UCA赞赏终止“中国行动计划”,呼吁司法部根据新指南担责

图文来源:UCA 编辑部 北美新视界

美国华人联合会 (UCA)赞赏司法部长Garland和副部长Olsen为结束有严重缺陷的“中国行动计划”(the China Initiative)所迈出的第一步。我们感谢联邦政府愿意倾听华裔美国人和其他受影响社区对该计划带来的危害的各种担忧。我们感谢很多组织和个人挺身而出,帮助挽回美国司法系统的诚信和美国民主对所有美国人的承诺。

虽然UCA完全理解和支持美国有打击间谍活动和非法转让技术和知识产权的正当需要,但是在亚裔仇恨犯罪已经达到历史新高的时期,从众多国家所带来的众多威胁中单挑出一个国家,这客观上助长了种族和原籍国定性的歧视性做法。

随着美中关系不断恶化,美国司法部的“中国行动计划”——实际上还有其他联邦机构——另一个令人深感不安的事态发展是,联邦政府广泛滥用国家安全作为手段来起诉个人,特别是与中国有联系的人。许多根据“中国行动计划”被调查或起诉的华裔美国科学家就直接被当作间谍或外国代理人对待。

更令人震惊的是,某些执法官员甚至公开承认,他们通过对校园和研究机构的大规模调查或者通过“中国行动计划”来执行的过度起诉,就是要在或者已经在科学界造成一种令人不寒而栗的效果,以此来实现他们的“国家安全”目标。这些方法和做法对这些科学家和我们的执法机构的信誉都造成了不可挽回的损害。这已经完全不像是美国了。

中国行动计划的核心问题是它将亚裔美国人——尤其是今天的华裔美国人——视为“永远的外国人”,因此他们对美国的忠诚度经常受到质疑。正是这种有害的心态,使我们的社区受到本应保护我们的政府的严厉的审查、不信任,最终导致法律上的不平等对待。如果美国要继续确保自己是一个真正的、以法治为基础的民主国家,这种情况就必须改变。

在UCA肯定司法部在结束“中国行动计划”方面取得的进展的同时,我们将继续保持警觉,监督联邦执法机构。我们不仅将依照司法部遵循的悠久的彰显法治精神的价值观,更要依据司法部新颁布的起诉指南来问责联邦政府。我们特别呼吁:

1.司法部立即使用其刚颁布的指南来核查,并在合规的情况下撤销对那些“罪名”仅仅涉及研究诚信的科学家的刑事起诉;

2.联邦调查局立即使用司法部刚颁布的指南进行核查,并在合规的情况下终止对许多科学家正在进行的司法调查;

3.联邦执法机构要与亚裔美国人社区开展有意义的持续对话,开展针对偏见的培训,惩戒执法人员的不当行为,认识到“中国行动计划”的过度起诉给科学家和他们的家人造成的伤害和痛苦,并加以补救。

多年来,UCA 从声援陈霞芬、郗小星、胡安民以及其他的无辜华人案件做起,一直站在为争取我们宪法保障的公民权利和公民自由而斗争的最前沿。UCA将继续与其他组织和社区合作,确保美利坚合众国信守她对所有美国人做出的平等正义、自由和公平的承诺。

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UCA举办抗议示威行动日 呼吁终止“中国行动计划”

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UCA Applaud End of the China Initiative, Calling for Accountability Under DOJ’s New Guideline

We at United Chinese Americans (UCA) applaud Attorney General Garland and Assistant Attorney General Olsen for taking the first step to end the flawed “China Initiative.” We appreciate the government for listening to the various concerns of Chinese Americans and other affected communities regarding the harm of this program. We are thankful for the many organizations and individuals who stepped up to help redeem the integrity of America’s judicial system and reclaim the promise of our democracy.

While the United States has a legitimate need to counter espionage and other illicit transfer of technology and intellectual property—a concern UCA fully supports—singling out one country among a myriad of threats from a myriad of countries has fueled the practice of racial and country of origin profiling at a time when anti-Asian hate crimes are already at a record high.

As US-China relations worsen, another deeply troubling development with the DOJ’s China Initiative—and indeed with other federal agencies—is the convenient, overly broad, and

even abusive use of national security as a means to prosecute individuals, especially those with ties to China. Many Chinese American scientists under investigation or prosecution by the China Initiative are treated as if they were spies or foreign agents.

And most shockingly, certain law enforcement officials even publicly acknowledge they have achieved their “national security” goal by creating a chilling effect on the scientific community through the dragnet they put on campus and at research institutions or by overzealous prosecutions through the China Initiative. These methods and practice have led to irrevocable damage both to these scientists and to the credibility of our law enforcement agencies. This is utterly un-American.

At the heart of the China Initiative is the perception of Asian Americans—especially Chinese Americans today—as “perpetual foreigners” whose loyalty to America is often questioned. It’s this harmful mindset that has subjected our community to harsh scrutiny, mistrust, and thus unequal treatment under law by the very same government sworn to protect us. This must change if America is ever to remain a viable democracy based on the rule of law.

As we acknowledge the progress made by the DOJ with regard to the China Initiative, we will continue to be watchful and hold federal law enforcement agencies accountable, not only by its long-standing values, but also by the new prosecutorial guidelines. In particular, we call on:

1. The DOJ to use its new guidelines to immediately review and, if applicable, drop those ongoing cases against scientists whose only charged “crime” concerns research integrity;

2. The FBI to use the new guideline to immediately review and, if applicable, terminate those ongoing investigations of scientists;

3. The federal law enforcement agencies to start a meaningful and sustained dialogue with Asian American communities, initiate bias training, discipline agents for their misconduct, and recognize and remedy the harm and suffering the overzealous prosecutions have inflicted upon the scientists and their families.

For years, UCA has been at the forefront of the fight for our constitutionally guaranteed civil rights and civil liberties, through cases such as Sherry Chen, Xiaoxing Xi, Anming Hu and others. UCA will continue to partner with other organizations and communities to hold the United States to her promises of equal justice, freedom and fairness for all.