Chinese-Americans urged to fight back to dispel growing cloud of suspicion and discrimination in US
- Speakers at a conference sponsored by the Committee of 100 discuss the need to find a balance between national security and the free flow of ideas
- ‘The Chinese-American community is caught in the vortex of a reset of US-China relations,’ a participant says, adding that it makes him ‘very depressed’
Chinese-Americans, increasingly caught in the crossfire between Washington and Beijing, need to push back against overactive security agencies, fight their case in the court of US public opinion and advocate for open science and research to counter mounting suspicion of anyone who looks Asian.
Those were among the early elements of a strategy outlined at an invitation-only conference in Palo Alto, California, last weekend sponsored by the Committee of 100 as the Chinese-American community struggles to build consensus on how to counter discrimination. Among the committee’s members are Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
“I’m happy we’re here, hearing some of these thoughts, but I’m also very depressed,” said Robert Gee, a regional chair of the Committee of 100 and president of Gee Strategy Group, a research and investing firm based in Washington. “We should not be lulled into thinking there will be any quick fix. The Chinese-American community is caught in the vortex of a reset of US-China relations.”
Scientists, policy experts and current and former US officials at the conference in Silicon Valley, titled “Science and Technology Caught Between the United States and China,” underscored the need to find a balance between national security and the free flow of ideas crucial to innovation.
Top American scientists and engineers acknowledged that China was active in stealing intellectual property and industrial espionage but argued that the Trump administration’s response was out of proportion to the risk, and has undermined the competitive edge that Washington seeks.
