On Thursday, a former University of Kansas professor’s conviction for making a false statement related to his work in China was overturned by a U.S. appeals court. This marks another setback for the Department of Justice in their efforts to crack down on Chinese influence within American academia during the Trump administration. The news was reported by Reuters.
In a recent ruling, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has overturned the conviction of Feng “Franklin” Tao on the only count on which he was found guilty by jurors in 2022. The decision was made on a 2-1 vote, as the court found that the evidence presented by prosecutors during the trial was inadequate to support the charge.
According to Peter Zeidenberg, the lawyer representing Tao, the case against his client was a wrongful prosecution. Despite having no evidence of espionage, authorities relentlessly pursued the matter. As a result, Tao’s family was left virtually bankrupt and he was unjustly fired from his job.
According to Zeidenberg, “This long nightmare is finally over,” said Dr. Tao, who expressed his gratitude.
The comment from the Justice Department was not provided.
As part of the “China Initiative,” roughly two dozen academics, including Tao, were charged with counts related to suspected Chinese economic espionage and research theft. The initiative was introduced in 2018 during the administration of former President Donald Trump with the goal of countering such activities.
In 2022, under the leadership of Democratic President Joe Biden, the China Initiative was terminated by the Justice Department. The decision was made after the initiative faced multiple unsuccessful prosecutions and criticism that it caused prejudice towards Asians and limited research. However, the department clarified that it would still pursue cases related to national security concerns posed by China.
Tao, who specialized in renewable energy projects, allegedly concealed his association with Fuzhou University in China from the University of Kansas and two federal agencies that granted funds for his research, as per prosecutors.
In 2019, Tao was indicted and in April 2022, a jury found him guilty of four out of eight counts. However, a trial judge reversed three wire fraud convictions due to insufficient evidence and Tao was ultimately sentenced to time served.
The defendant was found guilty of a single charge of making a false statement by not disclosing his connection with Fuzhou University on a form that was submitted to the University of Kansas. The prosecution argued that this information was crucial to the funding decisions of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
In the opinion of the majority, as articulated by U.S. Circuit Judge Nancy Moritz, Tao’s statement had no impact on an actual funding decision. This was due to the fact that neither agency had any proposals to consider from Tao when he made the statement. As a result, Moritz concluded that the prosecutors were unable to demonstrate that the statement was material.
Nate Raymond from Boston reported on the matter, while Matthew Lewis and Leslie Adler took care of the editing.