Lawmakers Demand DOJ Explain Dropping of Cases Against Chinese Researchers Accused of Hiding Military Ties

Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to explain why prosecutors have dropped a series of cases connected with the Justice Department's clampdown on Chinese espionage.

In July, federal prosecutors filed motions to dismiss charges against six Chinese researchers who had been accused of hiding their ties to Chinese institutions or the Chinese military.

The deal, which paved the way for the release of two Canadians held in China, has similarly prompted Republican lawmakers to question the Biden administration's approach to confronting threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

In recent years, the DOJ has, under a project called the "China Initiative," aggressively pursued cases targeting the CCP's expansive campaign of economic espionage against the United States.

Academics, in particular, for the first time found themselves in the crosshairs over allegedly hiding their funding ties to the Chinese regime.

In 2020, there were at least six prosecutions against alleged undercover Chinese military officers posing as researchers at U.S. universities.

One of the cases was against Tang Juan, a researcher at the University of California-Davis, who allegedly hid her affiliations with the Chinese military in her visa application.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/lawmakers-demand-doj-explain-dropping-of-cases-against-chinese-researchers-accused-of-hiding-military-ties_4019016.html