- Joined
- Aug 19, 2008
- Messages
- 38,563
- Points
- 113
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-...g-china-describes-toll-taken-family-rcna47944
Xiaoxing Xi, a physics professor at Temple University, remembers trying to make sense of what was happening to him and his family that early morning of May 2015, when armed FBI agents swarmed his Philadelphia home before daybreak, shining flashlights in their eyes and rounding them up at gunpoint. Xi was arrested on a charge of economic espionage.
The case against Xi seven years ago revolved around a personal invention and his alleged disclosure of manufacturing information with his research community in China. Though Xi’s case was abruptly dropped four months after his arrest, he said it's taken a toll on his family and he's now taking legal action.
“My wife was telling me that her biggest concern was trying to help our younger daughter, who was 12 years old at that time, to not suffer the mental damages because of this traumatic thing,” Xi said. “She kept telling her that this was just like a movie, trying to minimize the fact that this was happening.”
While lower courts dismissed his case, Xi, who is among several other Chinese scientists to have been falsely accused of economic espionage, appeared before an appeals court last week in hopes of moving forward with a suit.
The Department of Justice had accused Xi of sharing schematics for a pocket heater with peers in his research community in China. Xi, who had previously signed a nondisclosure agreement over the blueprint, was described by prosecutors as engaging in “an effort to assist Chinese entities in becoming world leaders of the superconductivity field.”
“They’ve done wrong and they should be held accountable,” said Xi, who’s backed in part by the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s also important for the community in general, because of all the Chinese scientists and scientists of Chinese descent — many of them are being falsely charged. And if we are not able to hold the government accountable, they’re going to do more of this.”
Xi’s team called on the court to reinstate his claims for damages against the U.S. government, who they allege violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and against being compelled by the government to provide incriminating information, respectively.
He was threatened with up to 80 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Xi, who’s since been reinstated as a professor, was also stripped of his position as the interim chairman of the physics department at Temple University and placed on administrative leave for a period of time.
Temple University declined NBC News’ request for comment.
But testimony from physicists showed that the blueprints were not at all for the technology in question, but for his own invention. Interactions with Chinese contemporaries appeared to be “legitimate normal academic collaborations.” And by September 2015, the DOJ’s case fell apart.
The motion to dismiss the case stated that “additional information came to the attention of the government.”
The Justice Department did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. - LOSERS
Xi, who initially sued the government in 2017, alleges that the prosecution wasn’t just a misunderstanding in technology, but FBI agents had “made knowingly or recklessly false statements” to support their prosecution. His arrest, Xi claimed, was discriminatory. And he was targeted due to his ethnicity, much like many other scholars of Chinese descent.
Though Xi's case was dismissed last year, his appeal will set in motion a case whose decision will likely take several months. The challenge will be difficult. In an amicus brief filed in support of Xi earlier this year, dozens of organizations noted that the Supreme Court significantly narrowed its already restrictive standard of holding federal agents accountable for violating constitutional rights. But Xi and his family say that they’re prepared to keep fighting, so that, at least some positive change can come out of their trauma, daughter Joyce said. - Daughter English name
Xiaoxing Xi, a physics professor at Temple University, remembers trying to make sense of what was happening to him and his family that early morning of May 2015, when armed FBI agents swarmed his Philadelphia home before daybreak, shining flashlights in their eyes and rounding them up at gunpoint. Xi was arrested on a charge of economic espionage.
The case against Xi seven years ago revolved around a personal invention and his alleged disclosure of manufacturing information with his research community in China. Though Xi’s case was abruptly dropped four months after his arrest, he said it's taken a toll on his family and he's now taking legal action.
“My wife was telling me that her biggest concern was trying to help our younger daughter, who was 12 years old at that time, to not suffer the mental damages because of this traumatic thing,” Xi said. “She kept telling her that this was just like a movie, trying to minimize the fact that this was happening.”
While lower courts dismissed his case, Xi, who is among several other Chinese scientists to have been falsely accused of economic espionage, appeared before an appeals court last week in hopes of moving forward with a suit.
The Department of Justice had accused Xi of sharing schematics for a pocket heater with peers in his research community in China. Xi, who had previously signed a nondisclosure agreement over the blueprint, was described by prosecutors as engaging in “an effort to assist Chinese entities in becoming world leaders of the superconductivity field.”
“They’ve done wrong and they should be held accountable,” said Xi, who’s backed in part by the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s also important for the community in general, because of all the Chinese scientists and scientists of Chinese descent — many of them are being falsely charged. And if we are not able to hold the government accountable, they’re going to do more of this.”
Xi’s team called on the court to reinstate his claims for damages against the U.S. government, who they allege violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and against being compelled by the government to provide incriminating information, respectively.
He was threatened with up to 80 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Xi, who’s since been reinstated as a professor, was also stripped of his position as the interim chairman of the physics department at Temple University and placed on administrative leave for a period of time.
Temple University declined NBC News’ request for comment.
But testimony from physicists showed that the blueprints were not at all for the technology in question, but for his own invention. Interactions with Chinese contemporaries appeared to be “legitimate normal academic collaborations.” And by September 2015, the DOJ’s case fell apart.
The motion to dismiss the case stated that “additional information came to the attention of the government.”
The Justice Department did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. - LOSERS
Xi, who initially sued the government in 2017, alleges that the prosecution wasn’t just a misunderstanding in technology, but FBI agents had “made knowingly or recklessly false statements” to support their prosecution. His arrest, Xi claimed, was discriminatory. And he was targeted due to his ethnicity, much like many other scholars of Chinese descent.
Though Xi's case was dismissed last year, his appeal will set in motion a case whose decision will likely take several months. The challenge will be difficult. In an amicus brief filed in support of Xi earlier this year, dozens of organizations noted that the Supreme Court significantly narrowed its already restrictive standard of holding federal agents accountable for violating constitutional rights. But Xi and his family say that they’re prepared to keep fighting, so that, at least some positive change can come out of their trauma, daughter Joyce said. - Daughter English name
