Timeline
Tracing Chinese American Surveillance Throughout the Ages
1950's Red Scare
Surveillance of Chinese Americans can be traced back to the 1950’s Red Scare, where the United States was afraid of the rise of the Soviet Union and Communist China. The case of Tsien Hsue-Shen provided a catalyst for the creation of the FBI surveillance program on Chinese scientists in America. Tsien Hsue-Shen was a talented scientist who worked on classified technology, but was accused of being a communist and had his security clearances revoked. When he attempted to leave for China, he was stopped and placed under surveillance for 5 years. He was finally allowed to leave in exchange for the release of 11 U.S. airmen held prisoner by the Chinese from the Korean war.
Tsien Hsue-Shen and his lawyer at his deportation hearing, Nov. 16, 1950
1960's
When Tsien returned to China, he was put to work on rockets, aiding China’s development on nuclear tipped missiles and eventually the hydrogen bomb. China’s successful hydrogen bomb test in 1967 gravely concerned the FBI, as the hydrogen bomb was developed vastly sooner than predicted, so they came to the conclusion that intelligence must have been stolen. Director Hoover was convinced of espionage, and he believed “students and scientists with living relatives behind the Bamboo Curtain.” were chiefly responsible. An internal FBI memorandum has revealed that in response, “It is recommended that an index be maintained in the Chinese unit of Nationalities Intelligence section regarding ethnic Chinese Scientists in the U.S. In addition to Chinese nationals, U.S. citizens of Chinese descent were also targeted. This program would continue until the late 1970’s.
1970's - 1980's
During the 1970's, relations between the US and China had begun to normalize and warm during the course of the Nixon presidency. However, these relations were constantly in flux due to geopolitical and strategic concerns producing contradictory waxing and waning phases of US-Chinese relations. This is embodied in several important events of the 70s such as Ping-Pong diplomacy and the Vietnam War. However, the election of Ronald Reagen from 1981 to 1989 constituted a significant departure from the detente policy of Nixon’s presidency. Characterized by explicit pro-Taiwan sentiments from Reagen and other influential members of the American government as well as tensions in the US-Chinese trade balance, US-Chinese relations were also further complicated by tensions between the US capitalist system and China’s communist system. The historical tensions of this time period likely influenced sentiments towards Chinese individuals within the US even beyond the period as a part of Reagen’s legacy.
Modern Times
Despite the end of the original FBI surveillance program in the late 70’s, bias continues to persist against Chinese American Scientists to this day. Amid increased tensions with China due to intellectual property theft, the Justice Department’s National Security Division launched the China Initiative in 2018 to combat Chinese economic aggression and intellectual property theft.
“The greatest long-term threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property, and to our economic vitality, is the counterintelligence and economic espionage threat from China”
FBI Director Christopher Wray
