FBI Urges Universities To Monitor Some Chinese Students And Scholars In the US (npr.org) 103
U.S. intelligence agencies are encouraging American research universities to develop protocols for monitoring students and visiting scholars from Chinese state-affiliated research institutions, as U.S. suspicion toward China spreads to academia. From a report: Since last year, FBI officials have visited at least 10 members of the Association of American Universities, a group of 62 research universities, with an unclassified list of Chinese research institutions and companies. Universities have been advised to monitor students and scholars associated with those entities on American campuses, according to three administrators briefed at separate institutions.
FBI officials have also urged universities to review ongoing research involving Chinese individuals that could have defense applications, the administrators say. "We are being asked what processes are in place to know what labs they are working at or what information they are being exposed to," Fred Cate, vice president of research at Indiana University, tells NPR. "It's not a question of just looking for suspicious behavior -- it's actually really targeting specific countries and the people from those countries." In a statement responding to NPR's questions, the FBI said it "regularly engages with the communities we serve. As part of this continual outreach, we meet with a wide variety of groups, organizations, businesses, and academic institutions. The FBI has met with top officials from academia as part of our ongoing engagement on national security matters."
FBI officials have also urged universities to review ongoing research involving Chinese individuals that could have defense applications, the administrators say. "We are being asked what processes are in place to know what labs they are working at or what information they are being exposed to," Fred Cate, vice president of research at Indiana University, tells NPR. "It's not a question of just looking for suspicious behavior -- it's actually really targeting specific countries and the people from those countries." In a statement responding to NPR's questions, the FBI said it "regularly engages with the communities we serve. As part of this continual outreach, we meet with a wide variety of groups, organizations, businesses, and academic institutions. The FBI has met with top officials from academia as part of our ongoing engagement on national security matters."
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"That *IS* their job."
What? Telling civilians that they should spy on their students and faculty?
That's fine (Score:1)
I feel like the American citizens are grossly uninformed on Senator Dianne Feinstein in regards to this.
University Leftists (Score:1)
Most likely the Leftists in the Universities are actively helping Chinese steal IP because they don't think America deserves to keep it.
Remember what happened to the Rosenbergs.
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Racism?? Additional monitoring of Citizens from a country that, historically, thinks nothing about stealing tech and designs, and espionage, from/of America is racism?
Talk about "out of touch with reality".
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students and visiting scholars from Chinese state-affiliated research institutions
That has nothing to do with race you Mother Fucking Leftist retard.
Fucking Kill Yourself and make the world a better place. No one will miss you anyway.
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" For example. If a Chinese guy X steals secrets from you, then by all means, be mad at guy X. "
Were it just ONE Chinese guy / gal X who is stealing secrets, then we can be mad at guy / gal X.
However, there is a well established history of Chinese living in the United States who are working with sensitive information getting caught trying to pass it back to the Chinese Government. Google it. There are far too many examples to list here. Now imagine all those who haven't been caught yet.
Be happy they're j
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The FBI is trying to to spy harder on a country who has some economic disputes and treating them like they are a threat to the nation sounds political to me.
Do your own surveillance (Score:5, Insightful)
The FBI does at least have a legimate role in the surveillance of foreigners, at least as long as they follow rules such as reasonable cause, warrants, etc. Universities do not, and they don't have any business doing the FBI's job for them, nor would there be any expectation that university staff would have any expertise in counter-espionage.
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Why? Under those parameters, you'd be a shoe-in.
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Yes. And they aren't supposed to racially profile either. Just get rid of the word "Chinese", and perhaps you would have a more valid sounding policy.
"Chinese" is a nationality. Not one of the 56 official ethnic groups in China is called "Chinese".
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Read e.g. https://www.aclu.org/other/racial-profiling-definition
"Racial Profiling: Definition
"Racial Profiling" refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. "
When 9/11 happened, airports all over implement stupid policies all over the place, targeting everyone at random, stating that we couldn't racially profile, and just look for the guy who looked Muslim, etc.
These
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However Universities do want to keep on the Governments good side. As most of their money is from grants. There is power to force someone to do something then there is power to imply there may be consequences if you refuse that won’t be as easy to point to.
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If the University in question has a contract with the government for research on defense technology or applications the law requires that the University have a standard of care to ensure this information isn't stolen by foreign nationals and that would include monitoring the access and use of that information by foreign nationals including graduate students.
This is the FBI reminding the universities they have a legal and contractual obligation to report suspicious activity or behavior to the FBI.
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Most institutions have some degree of obligation "to report suspicious activity or behavior". That's not the same as unmotivated surveillance and discrimination by nationality.
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You seem to be conflating wide scale monitoring and surveillance with monitoring foreign nationals working with protected information. They aren't telling them to put cameras in the persons bedroom, they are telling them they have an obligation to monitor foreign nationals doing research using of protected information (as defined by US law). And that is perfectly legal.
There is absolutely nothing illegal about them singling out foreign nationals who come from a country that the government believes is engage
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This is kind of like the way beat cops like to blur the line between a consensual conversation, a terry stop and an arrest. The way our system works is that it's up to the citizen to understand his rights and responsibilities. If he underestimates his rights that gets him into trouble. If he overestimates his rights that gets him into trouble too.
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The FBI does at least have a legimate role in the surveillance of foreigners, at least as long as they follow rules such as reasonable cause, warrants, etc. Universities do not, and they don't have any business doing the FBI's job for them, nor would there be any expectation that university staff would have any expertise in counter-espionage.
When the foreigners are temporary visitors, and they are working in new technology or research that would potentially be classified, I would side with the FBI. That is, keep a close watch on the foreigner to keep trade secrets American
Sucks to be a Chinese student (Score:1)
Seek a better education abroad, pay a real dear premium in order to get it, and instantly become a target for both your government and the US.
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Oh no, you get some surveillance and are not allowed to participate in sensitive research ... what an incredible suffering.
I think they can live with a little surveillance, would be hard to live in China otherwise.
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In many cases, the Chinese government actually pays the tuition with the hopes they'll come back with the knowledge and research to kickstart Universities and business back home.
American people are too sweet and naive. (Score:1)
Americans are too sweet and naive, and think China, and Russia are our buddy-buddies and friendly-friends.
They are not. China and Russia wish to upend us. China in particular wants to be as influential as we once were.
Y'all are so stupid if your first instinct isn't to pound both of them into fine dust, commercially and industrially.
And maybe one day, militarily.
Bunch of panty-waisted limp-wristed feel-gooders is what we have now in this country. We need more hawks and less doves.
We need to fucking gut Ch
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Americans, Europeans ... the entire first world was sold on these lies. Not by China either, but by the super-rich (Trilateral commission's fingerprints are all over the US diplomatic normalization with China).
Rich people have too much faith in themselves and global trade, they thought that just as long as they got us to open up to Russia and China they'd become good little globalist puppet states too ... just like us.
They refused, now fucking Trump has to save us from their folly ... would be nice to have
Everyone is a spy! (Score:3)
This the same sort of thing that we are told is a problem in China. We are told that you are always spied on when in China, so watch yourself! Usually this is followed by "How dare they!"
Once you have a system to monitor every Chinese student, its only a matter of changing a field to monitor everyone else.
--
Within the realms of what goes around, resides the magnitude and severity of what comes around. - Sandeep N. Tripathi
An Ersatz ROTC program! (Score:2, Funny)
For students who don't have the physical stamina to qualify for ROTC . . . where the government pays your college fees in exchange for four years military service afterward . . . this would be a great alternative.
Kinda sorta like the "Informelle Mitarbeiter" (informal co-workers) of the former East Germany Stasi. Wear a lot of folks were threatened with the end of their career, if they did not cooperate with the Stasi.
You can creepily stalk Chinese students . . . all government sanctioned!
I always wante
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Woah, woah, nothing about this story suggested you should tell us your perverted rape fantasies, what the fuck?
This is very necessary (Score:1)
The Chinese actually report back every week on what they work on out here. It's a requirement as part of their grants if the Chinese government is providing funding
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The argument I heard is that the Chinese security services can pretty easily flip even a conceptually unconnected and uninterested Chinese national doing research through coercion. That Chinese national has family and friends in China and they are existentially vulnerable to the Chinese government and security services within China.
"Wu, we would like detailed data on your project. Your family has a nice apartment, your parents have good jobs and we want to welcome you when you come home."
Now our Chinese n
science vs. engineering (Score:3)
Engineering is a separate thing. I personally favor as much openness in academia as possible, but some engineering disciplines are VERY meshed in with national security. Open-ness in engineering should be decided on a case-by-case basis. And China has made it very clear that they want their system to be an alternative to western democracy. More barriers in engineering are probably inevitable. Translation: Build your own damn weapon systems, and we'll see who's are better.
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Science is supposed to be universal. For the betterment of the entire species.
No, that was a television show called Star Trek.
You'd have to be stupid, to know they (Score:1)
But Comrade Trump says trust them (Score:1)
After all, they give his daughter and his family such nice trademarks and kickbacks, we should all be very trusting.
Trust, it's an I scratch your back, You slip me a payment for betraying American secrets kind of thing.
One word: (Score:2)
McCarthy.
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Except when it's conservative blacklists, amirite?
Who monitors the FBI? (Score:2)
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Should also minitor... (Score:2)
In the other news [theintercept.com], the universities should also monitor Iraqi students for sending biology, chemical, and nuclear weapons how-to to Iraq, I suppose. When will Americans be not scammed [thebalance.com] by lying three letter agencies any more?
And they should know China had developed its atomic bombs and ICBMs back in the 1960s and 1970s without sending anyone to the US.
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Typo: "minitor" -> "monitor"
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Ivan, as you know, they didn't send anyone to the US to learn that, they sent them to Moscow.
Memo to FBI: YOU ARE LATE TO THE PARTY (Score:2)
Universities respond (Score:2)
Not your private army.
After the Russia Hoax why believe the FBI? (Score:1)
FBI credibility is non-existent.