In particular, many cases concerning research integrity have collapsed. And of the 95 people still charged, 71 are not actively prosecuted because the accused is in an unknown location or cannot be extradited.
Almost two-thirds of cases, or 64%, are still pending. Of the 148 people charged, only 40 pleaded or were found guilty, with guilty pleas often involving less serious charges than those initially brought. Three years after the start of the program, less than a third of Chinese Initiative defendants have been convicted. China Initiative business not doing as well as DoJ claims But as our database shows, only two of the 22 researchers have been accused of attempting to inappropriately access information or smuggle goods into China. Instead, the national security implications seem to focus on concerns that anyone with ties to China could serve as “non-traditional collectors,” which the China Initiative fact sheet describes as ” researchers in laboratories, universities and the defense industrial base who are being co-opted in the transfer of technology contrary to American interests. Funding agencies allegedly defrauded in research integrity cases NIH’s efforts predate the China Initiative, and the representative referred questions about the initiative to the Department of Justice.
Nine of the 23 research integrity cases involve health and medical researchers, including people who study heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer six of them focused on NIH-funded researchers, reflecting the institute’s aggressive stance to counter “the inappropriate influence of foreign governments on federally-funded research,” said a representative of the Institute. But most of the work in these areas is basic research, and many disciplines in which cases have been brought have no clear connection to national security. The initiative’s growing focus on research integrity has included several cases of academics working on topics such as artificial intelligence or robotics, which may have national security applications. National security ties are sometimes weak. – FBI espionage, who “encourage the theft of intellectual property from US institutions.” China Initiative cases by year (At least four cases of trade secret theft also involve alleged participation in a talent program.)įederal officials have said time and again that participating in talent programs is not illegal – although they have also called them “brain gain programs,” in the words of Bill Priestap, former deputy director of the cons. (A research integrity case in 2020 also included a charge of EEA violation.)Īt least 14 of these research integrity cases started as a result of suspicions stemming from links to “talent programs,” in which Chinese universities offer financial incentives for academics to conduct research, teach, or bring other activities back to the sponsoring institution, in part. In 2020, 16 of 31 newly announced cases (52%) were. In 2018, none of the cases concerned research integrity. Our analysis shows a significant shift in focus towards academics from 2019 through 2020.
0 kommentar(er)
