Forwarded message from Professors Peter Michelson and Steve Kivelson (Stanford University):
Hello Everyone,
Thank you again for signing our important letter to educate Congress on the harms of the China Initiative and to prevent its return. We have an important time-sensitive URGENT update on our ask that will make a significant impact on whether the China Initiative will return or not.
IMPORTANT Ask #1: Rep. Judy Chu and Senator Mazie Hirono are leading a bicameral letter (see below) urging members of Congress to oppose the reinstatement of the China Initiative. This is an extremely important effort to ensure that there is support amongst Congress to oppose its reinstatement. A bicameral letter is a letter signed by Congress members, both in the Senate and House. This is a powerful letter and we need as many Congressmembers on it as possible.
The Congressional deadline for both Senators & House Representatives to sign this bicameral Congressional letter is Tuesday, September 9th, 2025. In your personal capacity, could you please write to your Senators & House Representatives to sign the bicameral letter before Tuesday, September 9, 2025?
For your convenience, please feel free to use this template to communicate with your Congressmembers (House and Senate).
You can find your Congressmember's contact info here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member. After your communication (either via their website or a call), it would be helpful if you can let us know by log it in the tracking form, so we know who has been contacted.
Thank you so much, please let us know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
Peter Michelson
Steve Kivelson
Professors of Physics
Stanford University
Note about Bicameral Letter (from office of Rep. Chu, sent to various congress staff)
Deadline: Tuesday, September 9 at 3 PM
Letter Leads: Rep. Judy Chu and Sen. Mazie K. Hirono
Current Co-signers: Reps. Tokuda, Lieu, and Sanchez
Endorsing Organizations: Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), Stop AAPI Hate, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and Asian American Scholar Forum
Rep. Judy Chu and Senator Mazie K. Hirono invite your bosses to join a bicameral letter urging House and Senate Appropriations leaders not to include any language directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to restart the National Security Division's China Initiative in the FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations process. Concerningly, the House draft committee report. contains the following language:
"Countering Espionage by the PRC.-The Committee believes it was deeply irresponsible for the Department to end its China Initiative. The Committee understands that the Department established the China Initiative in 2018 in response to troubling trends indicating 80 percent of all economic espionage prosecutions brought by the Department allege conduct that would benefit the Chinese state, and that there was at least some nexus to China in around 60 percent of all trade secret theft cases. The initiative's goal was to identify and prosecute those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage as well as protecting our critical infrastructure against external threats through foreign direct investment and supply chain compromises. Additionally, the initiative aimed to combat covert Chinese efforts to influence the American public and policymakers. Within funds provided, the Committee directs the National Security Division to reestablish an office dedicated to countering espionage and influence efforts against American businesses, research institutions, and academia emanating from the PRC."
The letter expresses strong concern about the possible reinstatement of the China Initiative, established under the first Trump Administration. The program had a poor record that enabled the targeting and racial profiling of Chinese American and Chinese researchers and scholars. House Republicans previously attempted to insert this language in the FY 2024 and FY 2025 CJS appropriations report, but it was not included. We are asking appropriators to once again reject this fearmongering language and instead work with us to find forward-looking solutions that both defend national security and respect civil liberties and academic freedom.
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Xiyang Hu
Assistant Professor
Arizona State University
Tempe AZ
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