Boston, MA – FBI Director Wray’s sweepingly broad response to Senator Rubio’s question were completely irresponsible generalizations that attempt to paint all Chinese students and scholars as spies for China. We condemn these remarks entirely and reject these dangerous attempts to build a case that Chinese students, professors, and scholars should be viewed with more suspicion than others.
“Unfortunately, the growing perception that simply being of Asian ancestry or having ties to China makes you prone to espionage has created a culture of fear that has negatively impacted the Asian American community. We need to look no further than the examples of Sherry Chen and Dr. Xioaxing Xi, two Chinese American scientists who were wrongfully accused of espionage by the FBI only to have their charges dropped with no explanation. This caused irreparable harm to their careers, reputations, and lives, and many Asian American students, scientists, and scholars now fear that they may be subjected to the same discrimination.
“Our nation’s highest law enforcement officials should not condone profiling that encourages individuals to view all Chinese and Chinese Americans with more suspicion. If the FBI is acting under the assumption that simply being Chinese makes one a unique national security threat, that is a serious problem that must be addressed immediately. There is no room for this sort of prejudice in our country’s laws or practices.”
Furthermore, in light of recent Florida school shooting, we strongly echo Florida Governor Rick Scott’s call for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign in the wake of revelations FBI ignored a Jan. 5 tip about alleged Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 in a Wednesday attack.