FREDERICKSBURG, VA- Oct. 24, 2022: Today, the USDOJ (US Department of Justice) held a live press conference outlining charges against over a dozen defendants in a variety of cases relating to the intimidation of US residents and theft of US-based intellectual property. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, ten of the defendants are Chinese officials. Each of the cases relate in some way to alleged CCP (Chinese Communist Party) attempts to steal intellectual property from US-based tech and academic institutions.
There was also talk of a case of Chinese agents attempting to force a United States resident into returning to China. Attorney General Merrick Garland added that "The [People's Republic of China] has a history of targeting political dissidents and critics of the government who have sought relief and refuge in other countries." The various charges from the DOJ include attempts to steal confidential information from US-based tech companies, surveillance and harassment of a US resident in an attempt to intimidate them into returning to the PRC, obstruction, and attempting to target US citizens and coerce them into acting as Chinese agents.
Senator Reeves, who carried
SB717 this year seeking to protect Virginia academic institutions from theft of intellectual property by Chinese foreign agents, had this to say:
"The threat posed by China to our academic institutions and our tech companies has never gone away. I attempted to secure public, Virginia-based universities from these sort of targeted attacks with
SB717, which would have required university employees to disclose any payments from foreign governments as well as prohibiting them from taking Chinese government grants. Unfortunately, the bill was killed before it ever saw the light of day on the Senate floor in an unsurprising party-line vote. These charges brought up by the Department of Justice validate the need for oversight and caution when it comes to the participation of foreign nationals in our educational system. My legislation would have done just that. I plan on reintroducing the legislation this year in the hopes that the Senate Democrats will wake up to reality and stop playing the identity politics game."
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