#252 5/6 Monthly Meeting; Impact of US-China Tensions; Beta Reviewers; Border Issues; CAPAC

In This Issue #252

·       2024/05/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

·       AAPI Community Response to Rising Anti-Asian Hostility  

·       Call For Beta Reviewers of China Initiative Web Page and Timecards

·       Chinese Students in US Tell of "Chilling" Interrogations and Deportations

·       Thirty Years of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

·       News and Activities for the Communities

2024/05/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting

The next APA Justice monthly meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday, May 6, 2024, starting at 1:55 pm ET. In addition to updates by Nisha Ramachandran, Executive Director, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Joanna YangQing Derman, Director, Advancing Justice | AAJC; and Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), two speakers will describe an upcoming forum with the Asian American and academic communities and the FBI in Houston, which will be co-hosted by TMAC and the Science and Technology Policy Program,  Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Office of Innovation at Rice University.  

·       Nabila Mansoor, President, Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition (TMAC); Executive Director, Rise AAPI

·       Kenneth M. Evans, Scholar in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University

We also welcome back

·       Rebecca Keiser, Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy, National Science Foundation (NSF), returns to update us on the JASON report on Safeguarding the Research Enterprise, MacroPolo's Global AI Talent Tracker 2.0, and related activities and development at NSF.

The virtual monthly meeting is by invitation only. It is closed to the press. If you wish to join, either one time or for future meetings, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎, Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org.

AAPI Community Response to Rising Anti-Asian Hostility  

A panel of community leaders shared their experiences, discussed actionable steps that the AAPI community and its allies have taken, and explored future strategies to confront xenophobic challenges to the AAPI community in a morning session at the Committee 100 conference on April 19, 2024.Dr. Jeremy Wu, founder of APA Justice Task Force and a C100 member, delivered remarks to open the session, noting that Asian Americans have faced two deadly viruses in recent years - the coronavirus and the social injustice virus.  Anti-Asian hostility is not new and racial profiling and xenophobia will not go away soon, he said.  Community leaders and groups have been tirelessly combating discriminatory hostility and attacks on the AAPI community.  We are a nation of immigrants.  We value law and order, but we oppose encroachment on our civil rights and liberties under the guise of national security. We believe in U.S. democracy but stand against poor leadership, harmful policies, and rogue actors, he added.  Our communities have responded with diverse strategies and actions, including advocacy, education, mobilization, coalition building, civic engagement, data collection, media collaboration, litigation, and a Yellow Whistle with the message of "We Belong."  His presentation is posted here:  https://bit.ly/3wbeWV7

Jennifer H. Wu, Founding Partner, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman, and Stone LLP, passionately advocated to help hate crime victims navigate both the criminal justice system and the broader parts of the recovery process where too often there is no script.  She spoke about the impact of anti-Asian violence on victims and their families, including her personal experiences representing victims in NYC.  In particular, she observed that she was a patent lawyer who became a civil rights lawyer because of the rising tide of anti-Asian violence.  She was galvanized to action in working on the widely-publicized reports on anti-Asian violence by the Asian American Bar Association.  She noted that prosecutors (District Attorneys) are elected positions but relatively few Asian Americans participate in the process of electing them and there are no Asian American District Attorneys in New York City.  She concluded that individuals did not create these problems, but that we all need to come together to solve them. 

Edgar Chen, Special Policy Advisor, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, discussed meaningful involvement and participation in state and federal legislative advocacy efforts to combat alien land laws and other discriminatory bills.  He observed that there were alternating historical cycles of physical violence against Asian Americans on the streets with codification of anti-Asian sentiment in Congress and state houses and that the community response must deploy a multi-prong approach which includes the elements of grassroots advocacy on the streets including rallies and protests, legislative engagement, and litigation in courts.  In order to be effective, Chen argued, advocates must not only fight for the constitutional civil rights of Asian Americans, but must also muster strong economic arguments with empirical backing to demonstrate why discriminatory legislation is not only wrong, but damaging in other ways.  Legislators who are blinded by bias will not be convinced by arguments about civil rights, but could be compelled to mitigate economic harms posed by these bills.  Another strategy Chen discussed was cultivating strong working relationships with the media - first by being a trusted source of accurate information - which builds a rapport with journalists so that in addition to conveying timely factual background to assist them with their stories, your analysis and advocacy is more credible. 

Frank H. Wu, President, Queens College, offered candid comments on the importance of allyship and the difficulty of bridge building. He spoke about strategy and tactics. He pointed out that there is a consensus that discriminating against racial minorities is wrong, but distinguishing between citizens and aliens is normal (as in who can vote in elections), but the prejudice against Asian Americans includes the assumption they are perpetual foreigners, and, in any event, the bias toward Asian immigrants is about their racial background and not their citizenship. He discussed how coalitions succeed, such as in Texas, against alien land laws. Asian American itself brings together people whose ancestors fought wars amongst themselves. Finally, he discussed effective messaging, which needs to appeal to other Americans by invoking the ideals of democracy.Cindy Tsai, Interim President of C100, moderated the session, said "the session was an engaging blend of concepts and practical strategy. Anti-Asian sentiment is rising. It's important that the community understands the tools that are available to us to fight against discrimination and xenophobia. It was an honor to work with this panel of community leaders and activists." 

Call For Beta Reviewers of China Initiative Web Page and Timecards

Although the Department of Justice formally ended the China Initiative in 2022, there have been repeated efforts to revive it and such attempts are anticipated to persist in 2024.As a US government national-security program created to address economic espionage, the China Initiative disproportionately targeted Asian Americans and academic communities for administrative errors and harmed academic freedom and open science.The legacy of the China Initiative is an integral part of American history, and its lessons and repercussions must not fade from memory. Failing to acknowledge its impact could pave the way for its recurrence, perpetuating injustices, racial profiling, stigmatization, harm to U.S. leadership in science and technology, and government overreach.As part of the efforts to revamp its website, APA Justice has developed a webpage and 12 timecards to cover the China Initiative from its launch in November 2018 to its announced end in February 2022. 

During the month of April, we went through an alpha review with key stakeholders and partners.  Their feedback is being studied for implementation.  We anticipate the completion of this process in the second half of May, at which point we plan to start a beta review.  The goal of beta review is to gather feedback on the product's content, performance, usability, and overall user experience in real-world conditions.We are calling for up to 10 volunteers of diverse backgrounds to help us conduct the beta review.  Our vision of the eventual web page and timecards on the China Initiative is an open and free resource available for advocacy, research, and education. If you are interested and ready to contribute to this important public and community service initiative, please contact one of the co-organizers of APA Justice - Steven Pei 白先慎, Vincent Wang 王文奎, and Jeremy Wu 胡善庆 - or send a message to contact@apajustice.org.

Chinese Students in US Tell of "Chilling" Interrogations and Deportations

According to the Guardian on April 20, 2024, scientists at America’s leading universities complain of stalled research after crackdown at airports as tensions with China rise.  The Chinese embassy in Washington said more than 70 students “with legal and valid materials” had been deported from the US since July 2021, with more than 10 cases since November 2023. The embassy said it had complained to the US authorities about each case.The exact number of incidents is difficult to verify, as the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency does not provide detailed statistics about refusals at airports. Testimonies have circulated on Chinese social media, and academics are becoming increasingly outspoken about what they say is the unfair treatment of their colleagues and students.“The impact is huge,” says Qin Yan, a professor of pathology at Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, who says that he is aware of more than a dozen Chinese students from Yale and other universities who have been rejected by the US in recent months, despite holding valid visas. Experiments have stalled, and there is a “chilling effect” for the next generation of Chinese scientists.“It is very hard for a CBP officer to really evaluate the risk of espionage,” said Dan Berger, an immigration lawyer in Massachusetts, who represents a graduate student at Yale who, midway through her PhD, was sent back from Washington’s Dulles airport in December, and banned from re-entering the US for five years.  “It is sudden,” Berger said. “She has an apartment in the US. Thankfully, she doesn’t have a cat. But there are experiments that were in progress.”

Academics say that scrutiny has widened to different fields – particularly medical sciences – with the reasons for the refusals not made clear.  X Edward Guo, a professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University, said that part of the problem is that, unlike in the US, military research does sometimes take place on university campuses. “It’s not black and white … there are medical universities that also do military. But 99% of those professors are doing biomedical research and have nothing to do with the military.”  But “if you want to come to the US to study AI, forget it,” Guo said.The increased scrutiny comes as Beijing and Washington are struggling to come to an agreement about the US-China Science and Technology Agreement, a landmark treaty signed in 1979 that governs scientific cooperation between the two countries. Normally renewed every five years, since August it has been sputtering through six-month extensions.

Following years of scrutiny from the Department of Justice investigation into funding links to China, and a rise in anti-Asian sentiment during the pandemic, ethnically Chinese scientists say the atmosphere is becoming increasingly hostile.“Before 2016, I felt like I’m just an American,” said Guo, who became a naturalized US citizen in the late 1990s. “This is really the first time I’ve thought, OK, you’re an American but you’re not exactly an American.”On March 14, 2024, The Washington Post reported anecdotal stories on Chinese students and academics facing extra scrutiny entering the U.S.Read the Guardian report: https://bit.ly/3WmhlqT.  Read the Washington Post report: https://wapo.st/43LZfju

Thirty Years of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

CAPAC was established on May 16, 1994. Congressman Norman Y. Mineta, one of the founders of CAPAC, became its first Chair (1994-1995).Since then, the Caucus has been led by four other prominent Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Members of Congress: Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii (1995-1997), Congressman Robert A. Underwood of Guam (1907-2001), Congressman David Wu of Oregon (2001-2004), and Congressman Mike Honda of California (2004-2011).  The Caucus is currently led by Congresswoman Judy Chu, who became CAPAC Chair in February 2011.As AANHPI Heritage Month began on May 1, 2024, CAPAC held a press conference to mark the 30th anniversary of its founding and to highlight the vast contributions of the AANHPI community to the United States, summarized recent CAPAC achievements, and charted a path forward for AANHPIs across the country.  Announced speakers included Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), Del. Sablan (NMI-AL), Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-12), Rep. Al Green (TX-09). 

CAPAC is made up of 76 Members of Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate who advance the interests of the AANHPI community. With over 70 racial and ethnic groups speaking over 100 languages, the AANHPI community includes over 23 million people and is the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group across this past decade.Read the CAPAC press statement: https://bit.ly/4dlsQEO.  Visit the CAPAC website at https://capac-chu.house.gov/ 

White House Proclamation on AANHPI Month, 2024

On April 30, 2024, President Joe Biden issued "A Proclamation on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, 2024."The Proclamation said in part, "This month, we celebrate the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities, whose ingenuity, grit, and perseverance have pushed our great American experiment forward."Racism, harassment, and hate crimes against people of AA and NHPI heritage also persist — a tragic reminder that hate never goes away; it only hides.  Hate must have no safe harbor in America — that is why I signed the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which makes it easier for Americans to report hate crimes, and I also hosted the first-ever White House summit against hate-fueled violence.  "Our Nation was founded on the idea that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.  We have never fully realized this promise, but we have never fully walked away from it either.  As we celebrate the historic accomplishments of AA and NHPIs across our Nation, we promise we will never stop working to form a more perfect Union."Read the White House Proclamation:  https://bit.ly/4djMAZC

Read the AP News report about the history and evolution of the AANHPI Heritage Month: https://bit.ly/3UnZDjZ

News and Activities for the Communities

1.  APA Justice Community Calendar

Upcoming Events:2024/05/02 AAGEN 2024 Executive Leadership Workshop2024/05/04 Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice Book Tour2024/05/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting 2024/05/06 APA Justice Monthly Meeting2024/05/13-14 2024 APAICS Legislative Leadership Summit2024/05/14 2024 APAICS: 30th Annual Awards Gala2024/05/14 Serica Initiative: 7th Annual Women's Gala dinnerVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details.