The United States dropped the charges against the famous Chinese professor, and the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology expressed solidarity with Chen Gang

On the 20th, the US federal prosecutor formally proposed to withdraw the accusation against Chen Gang, a Chinese professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for "concealing relations with China", which was immediately approved by the judge, adding a new footnote to the absurdity of the "China Action Plan" launched by the US Department of Justice 3 years ago. The New York Times called it a notable setback to the China Action Plan. "The case, which targets an elite scientist who received strong support from the university, is the most important of the cases that have been dismissed so far." Chen Gang issued a statement on the 20th, saying: "Although I am relieved that my ordeal is over, I have noticed that the grossly misguided 'China Action Plan' continues to bring unnecessary fear to the academic community, and other scientists still face accusations." On the same day, MIT President Rafael Leif issued a statement reiterating his support for Chen Gang and hoping that he would return to MIT.

According to the New York Times, Chen Gang was a naturalized U.S. in 2000 as head of MIT's department of mechanical engineering and was arrested on January 14, 2021, the last week of Trump's presidency. At a news conference on the day of Mr. Chen's arrest, Mr. Lyring, then a federal prosecutor in Boston, said, "The charges in this case mean that it's not just about greed, it's about loyalty to China." This statement caused shock in the academic community. Five days later, U.S. prosecutors filed two counts of "telecommunications fraud" against Chen.

According to the MIT technology review website, MIT has been firmly supportive of Professor Chen Gang from beginning to end, paying his defense fees, and saying that the prosecutors' so-called "funds obtained by Chen Gang from China" were actually given to MIT rather than Chen personally. Professors from many American universities, including MIT, have repeatedly issued joint letters in solidarity with Chen Gang and criticized the "China Action Plan." On January 20, the prosecutor in charge of Chen Gang's case filed a motion calling for the withdrawal of all charges against him, saying the government "can no longer bear the burden of proof at trial." At noon that day, a Magistrates Court judge approved the withdrawal of the case.

The Chen Gang case is the latest case of the infamous "China Action Plan" in the United States to maliciously investigate and indiscriminately prosecute Chinese scientists. The New York Times said on the 20th that the withdrawal of Chen Gang's case occurred when the US Department of Justice was reviewing the "China Action Plan", which was criticized for specifically targeting Chinese scientists and destroying the atmosphere of cooperative research. Justice Department spokesman Hohenbacker said last week that the department was "assessing the way we are responding to the Threat from the Chinese government." Biden administration officials have met with the sharpest critics of the China Action Plan, representatives of Asian-American rights groups and universities to discuss possible changes to the program. According to current and former Justice Department officials, the name "China Action Plan" could be removed in the coming weeks, and the cases could no longer be packaged into a separate group but reclassified into cases in the Justice Department's Department of State Security.

Source: Global Times