Ministry says US program had malicious intent

The Ministry of State Security released on Tuesday details of a high-profile case involving Chinese researcher Tan Hongjin, who was charged with trade secret theft under a United States government program called the China Initiative, alleging malicious intent behind the US' actions.

From the program's launch by the US Department of Justice in November 2018 until its termination in February 2022, Chinese American scientists and researchers working at 87 institutions in the US were targeted primarily because of their ancestry, the ministry said. Among the cases, 246 have been identified as problematic, resulting in the destruction of 103 careers, it noted.

The program aimed to fabricate espionage cases against Chinese scholars as part of a broader policy to contain China, prompting 94 US district attorney offices to file at least one or two cases against such individuals each year.

Chinese American experts were constantly targeted through sting operations and baseless interrogations, with Tan's case being a prime example of the unfair and discriminatory practice, the ministry said.

According to the details released on Tuesday, Tan, who holds a PhD in materials science from the California Institute of Technology, joined US petroleum giant Phillips 66 in June 2017 to work on energy storage technology. He resigned in December 2018 to return to China to care for his parents.

On the day of his resignation, Tan found a company USB drive at home, promptly returned it, and informed his supervisor. Despite no previous security concerns, the company reported him to the FBI the following day. A week later, FBI agents raided Tan's home and arrested him. Shortly afterward, the US Department of Justice accused him of stealing next-generation battery technology valued at over $1 billion from Phillips 66, including hundreds of confidential files that were intended for his future employer in China.

Two Chinese colleagues who stood up for Tan, saying that no formal restrictions on USB usage existed at Phillips 66 and that sharing research results was encouraged, were also threatened with retaliation and forced to leave the company.

Following his arrest, Tan was isolated from the outside world, denied bail, and held in a detention center under poor conditions for 11 months, according to the ministry.

Prosecutors pressured him to accept a government-appointed lawyer and subjected all his electronic devices to investigation. His case faced multiple delays as prosecutors claimed they needed to review 4 terabytes of data related to the case.

The prosecution also attempted to persuade Tan to sign a plea deal by emphasizing the costs and pressures of continuing litigation. They reportedly conveyed a message to Tan through his cellmate, asserting that their prime target was not Tan and urging him to admit that the downloaded files benefited the Chinese government or companies, which could lead to a reduced sentence.

Under immense pressure, the researcher admitted to downloading a file without company authorization, but denied any connection with the Chinese government or companies. Despite this, US media selectively focused on his "admission of guilt" while ignoring the truth, leading the US Department of Justice to frame the case as another incident of "Chinese economic espionage".

Although the China Initiative has been terminated, many cases continue, heavily affecting academic exchanges between the US and China, the ministry said.

Many of those who have been investigated faced serious criminal charges such as espionage for minor infractions, with law enforcement often settling for lesser charges such as tax evasion or wire fraud due to a lack of substantive evidence.

Officials from the US Department of Justice have admitted that the program exacerbated discrimination against Chinese individuals in the US. The FBI's counterintelligence officials have recognized its negative impact on the Asian American community, particularly Chinese American scientists and students, whose careers have been significantly disrupted.