Science - USA (2022-02-25)

R

ampant wrongful prosecutions terrorize inno-

cent people—everywhere. The scientific commu-

nity is not immune to this. I know because I was

a victim. I am a professor at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT) who was accused

by the US government of fraud and questionable

connections to Chinese entities. Earlier this year,

I was finally exonerated—it took 2 years. I am painfully

aware, however, that I am the luckiest among the un-

lucky. Many other Chinese American scientists are being

unfairly investigated for similar alleged “crimes.” Or they

are simply leaving the country to avoid being targeted.

My ordeal taught me that politics affects science and sci-

entists, and that universities and funding agencies must

stand up for faculty who are wrongfully prosecuted.

I grew up in China and found my American dream

at MIT, where I became a department head and led

a vibrant research group. In Janu-

ary 2020, the dream turned into

a nightmare. I was detained and

interrogated at Boston’s Logan

Airport, and my electronic devices

were confiscated. A year later, fed-

eral agents raided my home, ar-

rested me, and interrogated my

wife without an attorney present.

My family lived in fear for 2 years,

and members of my research group

relocated. The accusations against

me were absurd. They criminalized

routine professional activities: re-

viewing research proposals, writ-

ing recommendations, and hosting visiting scientists.

In January 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ)

dropped all charges.

I was investigated under the DOJ’s China Initiative,

an effort launched in 2018 by the Trump administra-

tion to counter Chinese government’s espionage and

threats to national security. Andrew Lelling, a chief ar-

chitect of the Initiative and the US Attorney for Mas-

sachusetts at the time, rushed my indictment through.

Although he recently said, “The Initiative has drifted,

and in some significant ways, lost its focus,” similar

prosecutions are still going on. Christopher Wray, di-

rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said just

weeks ago that the agency opens two new China Initia-

tive investigations every day.

What gave me hope and ultimately saved me is a

lesson for all universities. MIT leadership, under

President L. Rafael Reif, supported me morally and

financially after I was detained at the airport, and the

university made its support public soon after I was

arrested. MIT professor Yoel Fink organized faculty

support, which led to an open letter, signed by over

200 MIT faculty. The letter used facts to tear apart the

criminal complaint and ended with a rallying state-

ment: “We are all Gang Chen.” A similar online peti-

tion launched by Northwestern University professor

G. Jeffrey Snyder was signed by 1380 individuals. In

open letters, faculty from about 230 universities in the

country called on the DOJ to stop the China Initiative.

The fundraising that my daughter launched reached

its goal in 1 day and helped raise awareness of other

Chinese American scientists in a similar plight. New

civil rights organizations joined forces with existing

ones to fight for justice and eliminate the China Initia-

tive. These collective voices helped compel the govern-

ment to drop all charges.

MIT has supported other fac-

ulty under similar investigation,

but other universities have mostly

remained silent. I urge university

leaders, trustees, and alumni associ-

ations to protect their faculty from

a campaign that is misdirected. The

talent loss and terror lobbed upon

faculty are weakening their institu-

tions, supporting harmful bias, and

ruining lives.

Funding agencies must also stand

up for justice. Dr. Chris Fall, the for-

mer director of the Office of Science

at the US Department of Energy (DOE), explained re-

cently that in 2020, the DOE changed reporting rules

regarding foreign ties. The government applied the 2020

rules to my 2017 DOE grant application. The 2021 indict-

ment mentioned DOE 18 times, only to miss this basic

fact. The DOE should have spoken up when it counted.

That is a lesson for all federal agencies.

I’ve devoted my life to science and education and

never thought that I would get involved in activism. But

I am now. People need to raise their voices so that the

government and public understand the evil of wrong-

ful prosecutions. I call on Congress to investigate the

wrongdoings of the government in my case and simi-

lar cases. And I call for continued vigilance to end the

China Initiative, however it is repositioned by the DOJ.

A s Mar tin Luther King Jr. wrote from a Birmingham jail,

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

–Gang Chen

We are all Gang Chen

Gang Chen

is the Carl Richard

Soderberg

Professor of Power

Engineering at the

Massachusetts

Institute of

Technology,

Cambridge, MA,

USA. gchen2@

mit.edu

10.1126/science.abo
PHOTO: MIT

SCIENCE science.org 25 FEBRUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6583 797

EDITORIAL

“...wrongful

prosecutions

terrorize

innocent people—

e v e r y w h e r e .”