False Accusations

For John, BLUF:  This sounds like someone trying to justify an initial bad move.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A friend of mine has been explaining to me the discrimination Americans of Chinese descent face in our nation.  I remembered that there was open discrimination in the past, especially in the 1800s and early 1900s, but I had thought we had moved beyond that.  We haven't.  I have probably been deceived by living in Lowell (MA), where people of Asian descent make up 20% of our population—one in five.  But, there are the signs out there.♠  For example, Harvard University appears to have a cap on admission of Asian students.

Ms Sherry Chen, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service, was first arrested, and now that she has been cleared, is being fired.  A civil servant here in the United States.

Yes, the Government of China has a view that all those of Chinese descent owe loyalty to Beijing.  That, however, does not mean, even suggest, that these individuals, be they a recent immigrant or someone whose parents arrived in the US 150 years ago, are not fully American and loyal to our nation.

From The New York Times Reporter Nicole Perlroth gives us "Chinese-American Cleared of Spying Charges Now Faces Firing".

Here is the lede and following paragraph:

Government officials say they intend to fire a Chinese-American hydrologist who was prosecuted but eventually cleared of espionage-related charges.

The hydrologist, Sherry Chen, an employee of the National Weather Service, received a letter over Labor Day weekend notifying her that the government planned to fire her for many of the same reasons it originally prosecuted her.

Mr Peter Zeidenberg, the lawyer for Ms Chen, says “How is this not a clear case of racial discrimination?”

I am with Mr Zeidenberg.

If you think there is such a thing as McCarthyism, this is a prime example.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  As "Suit" says, "The information is out there. All you have to do is let it in."