Abstract
The U.S. Government has increased its focus on Chinese espionage in the last decade in a randomized and unpredictable way. Primarily targeting Chinese scientists and academics, the “China Initiative” has resulted in widespread targeting of individuals based on their race, ethnicity, and national origin. The program was formally terminated and said to now be a part of a broader approach to nation-state threats. However, the outcomes and effect of the economic espionage charges in the last 15 years has greatly skewed towards prosecuting Chinese individuals irrespective of the name of the program. While protections typically exist in the law to protect against targeting based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, the Government has consistently prevailed against civil rights claims tangentially related to national security. The Note examines the China Initiative, proposes a need to rewrite strict scrutiny analysis in Equal Protection Claims related to national security, and calls on civil rights advocacy groups to combat the new, more expanded economic espionage act as a violation of the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendment as discrimination under national origin and race.
Recommended Citation
Winni Zhang,
The Witch-Hunt for Spies - A Critique of the China Initiative and National Security’s Outsized Influence in Equal Protection Analysis,
30 Wash. & Lee J. Civ. Rts. & Soc. Just. 571
(2024).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj/vol30/iss2/15
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