Dear AASF Community,
We are writing to share an important update that the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party held a hearing on “China’s economic espionage and subnational influence in the United States”. At the center of the hearing was how the country would move forward in its treatment of Chinese Americans, with a number of concerning issues raised like a witness calling for the denaturalization of 1.5 million Chinese Americans. AASF continues to call for a nuanced approach rooted in evidence and data, as opposed to fear and scapegoating.
A press release by the House Select Committee Ranking Member Khanna questioned witnesses and quoted AASF Executive Director Gisela Perez Kusakawa in his press release.
“Protecting researchers from discrimination and protecting our innovation edge are not competing goals but the same goal,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Esq., Executive Director of the Asian American Scholar Forum. “Our competition with the PRC and other countries is, at its core, a competition for talent, and overly broad and misguided investigations drive that talent away without making us any safer. Immigrants have founded or cofounded 59% of America’s privately held billion-dollar companies, and nearly one in four was started by someone who first came here as an international student. America wins by growing talent at home and attracting it from abroad, sustained by clear rules, due process, a robust research enterprise, and our fundamental American values, not unjust suspicion.”
Executive Director Kusakawa participated as a speaker at a Congressional briefing ahead of this hearing to share important perspectives and policy nuances lawmakers should consider as they advance America’s interests while safeguarding our principles and communities.
We are pleased to also share that John C. Yang, Advisory Council Member of AASF & President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), specifically referenced AASF’s work during his Congressional testimony for this hearing before the House Select Committee when asked about research and national security solutions and the impact of misguided policies on scholars, scientists, and researchers.
This critical educational work underscores the vital role AASF plays in ensuring our community’s voice is heard in policy discussions that affect scholars, scientists, and researchers.
