Academia to FBI on Monitoring Chinese Scientists: “Tread Carefully”

Nearly two dozen higher education groups warn the government to be cautious when advising US research universities to keep an eye on students and faculty with ties to certain Chinese institutions.

Written byJef Akst

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Twenty-two higher education associations and rights groups today (August 12) released a statement in response to an NPR report earlier this summer about a push by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Institutes of Health, and other government officials to monitor certain Chinese scholars working at US universities.

“This move seemingly stems from growing suspicion that the Chinese government is engaged in espionage of American higher education, with the aim of stealing data and intellectual property,” reads the statement, whose signatories include the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). “However, this is an area where the government must tread carefully.”

The statement goes on to acknowledge that the concern about Chinese espionage likely has some validity, citing a Newsweek story about an electrical engineer at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was recently found guilty of attempting to send US military electronics to China. ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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