House Bill Aims to Restart "China Initiative"

Controversial Trump administration program targeted Chinese academics for possible espionage.

The Department of Justice ended a controversial program nearly two years ago called the China Initiative, which targeted mostly ethnic Chinese academics and their links to China. The program was stopped in 2022 after criticism of racial profiling. Now, a proposed House spending bill wants to bring the initiative back.

More here: House bill aims to restart controversial DOJ program that targeted Chinese academics

So yeah, we're still doing this. The China Initiative, created during the Trump administration, was an effort to investigate and prosecute Chinese espionage in the United States, and targeted academics and scientists of Chinese descent who found themselves under scrutiny for past affiliations with Chinese institutions.

About 90% of the more than 70 cases prosecuted under the initiative involved people who were ethnically Chinese. Just about a quarter were convicted and usually for much lesser charges. In February 2022, the Department of Justice ended the China Initiative, citing in part racial and ethnic bias, though the FBI says it still has more than 2,000 cases related to China. The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment. And now a proposed House spending bill wants to restart the initiative.

In some cases where the Justice Department was unable to find evidence of espionage, officials brought lesser charges, only to drop them -- but not before damage was done to the scientists' reputations and careers. The suspicion extends to national security employees with ties to Asia, who are regarded as potential intelligence threats because they have family members in, say, China or Taiwan.

More here: Asian American Officials Cite Unfair Scrutiny and Lost Jobs in China Spy Tensions

FBI chief defends remarks on "the China threat"

Christopher Wray defended his previous portrayal of Chinese people in the U.S. as threats.



From Huffington Post: Despite backlash from Asian-American civil rights groups, FBI chief Christopher Wray defended his previous portrayal of Chinese people in the U.S. as threats.

In an interview with NBC News published on Wednesday, Wray addressed the controversial statements he made during a hearing with the Senate intelligence committee.

More here: FBI Director Defends Remarks That Chinese People In U.S. Pose Threats

Matt Damon saves China from dragons in 'The Great Wall'

The latest movie in the grand cinematic tradition of the Special White Person.



It turns out the Great Wall of China was erected to keep out dragons. Behold, the trailer for The Great Wall, a fantasy action monster movie about an epic battle against dragons in ancient China... starring Matt Damon. Yes, a thousand years ago, Jason Friggin' Bourne saved the Chinese from dragons.

Directed by Zhang Yimou, and touted as the most expensive Chinese movie of all time, the movie stars a long-haired Matt Damon alongside Chinese superstars like Andy Lau, Luhan and Jing Tian, in a crazy-ass smoke and spears and fire and arrows battle on the Great Wall against fire-breathing dragons.

This looks as ridiculous as it sounds:

The Nefarious Chinese Are Taking Over American Farms!

...according to this xenophobic Missouri political ad.



Well, this is... unsurprising. We are now in the muckiest thick of election season, so you know what that means. Blame China! For everything. In a fairly typical move out the campaign playbook, this racist, xenophobic, fear-mongering political ad for Missouri's state attorney general race goes there, with America's farms at stake.

The subtitled 30-second spot features a rather nefarious-looking Chinese businessman bragging to another in Mandarin about how he was able to buy a Missouri farm after state senator Kurt Schaefer, a Republican candidate for attorney general, helped changed a state law allowing foreign ownership of farms.

"Now we own thousands of acres in Missouri," the businessman says, arms raised, "and can buy more."

Take a look:

Trump says China is "raping our country."

Of course Donald Trump uses a sexual violence metaphor to discuss trade policy.



At this point, there is pretty much nothing Donald Trump can say that will surprise us. So why should we be surprised that the Republican presidential candidate compared the U.S.'s trade deficit with China to rape?

Trump: 'We can't continue to allow China to rape our country'

"We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing," Trump said Sunday during a rally in Indiana, referring to China's high number of exports relative to the United States.

The anti-China rhetoric is not much of a shocker -- this is an election, after all. Xenophobic China-bashing is a major part of the campaign playbook. And everybody knows that Trump loves to talk about China.

Might as well throw a sexual violence metaphor on top of all the fear-mongering.

The new Superman is... Chinese! And written by Gene Luen Yang

'New Super-Man' introduces Kenji Kong, a Shanghai teenager who gains the powers of Superman.



Over the weekend at WonderCon, DC Comics unveiled the creative teams behind its upcoming "DC Rebirth" event, the company's latest attempt to relaunch the DC Universe with new series, characters and lineups.

DC Rebirth: All The Teams and Announcements From WonderCon

As a comic book reader, these overhauls can be kind of exhausting, but the Rebirth series we're most excited about is New Super-Man from Gene Luen Yang, which re-imagines Superman, sort of, as a Chinese kid.

New Super-Man, launching in July, follows a Shanghai teenager named Kenji Kong who must learn to be a hero when he suddenly gets infused with the powers of Superman. The new monthly title will be written by Gene Luen Yang, with art by Viktor Bodganovich.

Dutch pranksters throw baby formula on random Asians

And now, feel the wrath of Chinese netizens.



Some racist bullshit out of the Netherlands, where some YouTubers filmed a prank video in which they throw cans of powdered baby formula over unsuspecting Asian people on the street.

“Racist”: Youths sorry for throwing baby formula at Chinese people

In the video, the young Dutch assholes behind the YouTube channel Vatos Locos Pranks can be seen walking up to Asians on the street in Amsterdam and asking, "Do you want some milk powder?"

He then tosses the entire container full of baby powder on them and runs away.

'Nanjing: The Burning City' by Ethan Young

Graphic novel tells a powerful account of one of the worst war atrocities of the twentieth century.



Writer/illustrator Ethan Young's graphic novel Nanjing: The Burning City is a powerful and moving account of one of the worst war atrocities of the twentieth century. Set during the Second Sino-Japanese War when the Imperial Japanese Army seized the Chinese capital of Nanjing, the story follows two abandoned Chinese soldiers -- trapped and desperately outnumbered inside the walled city -- as they try to escape.

Nanjing, recently published from Dark Horse Comics, unflinchingly delves into one of the most harrowing chapters of the World War II, pulling no punches in its stark, monochrome depiction of the horrors and human cost of conflict, while telling a heart-wrenching tale of bravery, dignity and defiance. It's a remarkable, devastating book that stays with you long after you've finished it.

Here's a trailer for the book:

Donald Trump says "China." A lot.

Three minutes of Donald Trump saying the word "China" over and over. Just because.



In case you missed it, here is a video of all the times Donald Trump has said "China" on the campaign trail.

Wall Street Journal tweets "chink in the armor" joke about Chinese president

Can we please retire this expression?



Come on. COME ON. I'm going to say it again: can we all just mutually agree to retire the expression "chink in the armor" -- especially in reference to anything having to do with China/Chinese/Asians?

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal tweeted a link to a story about the perceived vulnerabilities of Chinese president Xi Jinping, and thought it would be clever to include the phrase "chink in the armor." Seriously? Is this somebody's not-so-sly attempt at slipping in a very obvious racial slur?

The tweet, which was posted on Sunday evening, was quickly deleted. A few hours later, the Wall Street Journal followed up the offending tweet with a perfunctory "no offense was intended" tweet, claiming that their use of a "common idiom" was nothing more than a huge coincidence.

Carly Fiorina, too, says "industry" of Chinese women giving birth in America is a "festering problem"

Another Republican presidential candidate gets in on this week's China-bashing.



Not content to sit back and let Jeb Bush or Donald Trump have all the Asian-bashing fun, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina got in on the racist, xenophobic scapegoating with a rather unoriginal rant against the allegedly rampant problem of Chinese women engaging in so-called "birth tourism."

Carly Fiorina rails against 'industry' of Chinese women having US babies

Our nation faces so many problems. Where do we even begin? When in doubt -- and way behind in the polls -- blame the Chinese. On Thursday, Fiorina reiterated rival Jeb Bush's claims about "an industry that has been set up in L.A. where Chinese women come over on a tourist visa and have a baby."

Asian Birth Tourism, Numbers In Perspective

By Karthick Ramakrishnan. Cross-posted from AAPI Data.


Photo Credit: New York Times
In a recent press conference, Jeb Bush clumsily (and erroneously) said that the phenomenon of so-called "anchor babies" was "frankly, more related to Asian people."

As others have noted, the phenomenon of birth tourism is distinct from most conventional understandings of the offensive term "anchor baby," which tends to imply that people use birthright citizenship from their children to avoid deportation or eventually gain U.S. citizenship for themselves.

There has been a fair amount of sensationalist reporting on birth tourism by Chinese immigrants, with little understanding of the number of estimated "birth tourists," and how they compare to the overall number of Chinese immigrants or visitors to the United States. Below, we provide some numbers in perspective.

Man wanted in murder of Iowa State student arrested in China

Li Xiangnan is accused of killing his girlfriend, hiding her body and fleeing the country.


Memorial service for Tong Shao at Iowa State University.
A former University of Iowa student suspected of killing his girlfriend, hiding her body in the trunk of her car, and fleeing the country last year, has been arrested in southeastern China, where he will be prosecuted.

Chinese student faces prosecution in China for killing in Iowa

According to Iowa City police, 23-year-old Xiangnan Li surrendered to police in Wenzhou last month to face charges in the death of 20-year-old Tong Shao, an international student at Iowa State University.

Shao was reported missing before her body was found in the trunk of her car, parked at Li's apartment complex. An autopsy said she'd been asphyxiated, and authorities said she had been killed after a weekend with Li at a motel. By then, Li, who was a person of interest in the investigation, had returned to China.

'Twilight' director to film love epic set in ancient China... starring a white person! Of course.

Catherine Hardwicke will direct 'Loulan,' a "sweeping romantic epic" set in an ancient Silk Road kingdom.


Director Catherine Hardwicke
Another Hollywood production tries to get in on that China money. The latest effort comes from Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, who recently announced that she is making "a sweeping romantic epic" set in an ancient Silk Road city. Of course, the movie will likely star a white person. Because Hollywood.

'Twilight"s Catherine Hardwicke to film love epic in China

Loulan, set in the city of the same name circa 200 B.C., is about a princess caught in the middle of warring kingdoms at the nexus of the Silk Road, now known as the Xinjiang region in present-day western China.

But hey, it wouldn't be a proper Hollywood movie without throwing a white person in there somewhere, even in ancient frickin' China. So how are they going to explain that? In 1980, researchers in the region discovered a remarkably well-preserved female mummy with Caucasian features. She was dubbed the "Loulan Beauty."

See badass kung fu kids in GENER8ION & M.I.A.'s new music video

"The New International Sound Pt. II," starring the students of Shaolin Tagou



How awesome is this video? The incredible new music video for "The New International Sound Pt. II" by GENER8ION and M.I.A., was shot at the famed Shaolin Temple Tagou Martial Arts School, the largest kung fu academy in China. It features a few of the school's 36,000 students in various stages of kicking, punching, sweating and training to be more badass than you and I will ever be.

Check it out:

Carly Fiorina says the Chinese "are not terribly imaginative"

"That's why they're stealing our intellectual property."



Running for public office? First thing you have to do is talk about how awesome America is. A quick and easy way to do that, these days, is to invoke the magic word: China. Specifically, use language pitting Americans agains "the Chinese." Case in point, recent comments by GOP presidential contender Carly Fiorina, who says the Chinese are unimaginative and unable to innovate. "That's why they're stealing our intellectual property."

Carly Fiorina: The Chinese "Can't Innovate, Not Terribly Imaginative, Not Entrepreneurial"

In a video filmed by Iowa political blog Caffeinated Thoughts back in January before Fiorina announced her candidacy, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO explains her opposition to Common Core educational standards, arguing that there is no need for federal benchmarks over concerns that American students are lagging behind Chinese students in science and math.

Why? Because Chinese people lack creativity. "Innovation and entrepreneurship are not their strong suits."

Starbucks employee accuses customer of stealing secrets

"If you want steal our stuff for your store in China, go ahead, we're fine with that."



Oh hell no. Did this really happen? During a recent visit to a new premium Starbucks location in Seattle, one Asian American customer says he got the "acrid taste" of racism with his coffee when he was "lectured" by a corporate employee who jokingly suggested he was trying to copy company secrets to use in China.

On a recent visit to Seattle, Yelp user Daniel L. visited the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room, which is described as intended to be a "Willy Wonka experience" for coffee connoisseurs and amateurs alike. Daniel says the coffee was awesome, and he was ready to give it a 5-star review, but then...

Daniel says he and a friend started chatting with a "corporate guy" from Starbucks who pegged them as people in the coffee business, then advised them, "if you want steal our stuff for your store in China, go ahead, we're fine with that." Later, he followed that up with an unsolicited mini-lecture about good, old-fashioned American training, which cannot be copied. "That's something we'll never give to you." Whaaaaaat.

Here's an excerpt from Daniel's Yelp review:

Starbucks employee labels Asian customer's cup as "China"

It was a Mocha Frappuccino. And her name is Jenny.



Damn. This again. Don't have a lot of information to go on with this one, but Twitter user @JonWalkerBlue passed along this photo of a drink order his friend, who is Asian, received on a recent visit to Starbucks.

By now, you already know where this is going.

As you can see, in the space on the cup designated for the customer's name, the Starbucks employee simply wrote "China." That's a Mocha Frappuccino. Her name is Jenny. It's not even close to China.

Get paid to hang out and hug and play with pandas

Now hiring Panda Nannies. Your dream job awaits.



Looking for a career change? Or are you a new graduate wondering what the heck what's next? I have the job for you. Pack your bags. The China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Ya'an, China is now recruiting caretakers. Your job duties will include hanging out and hugging and cuddling with pandas.

The World's Best Job Is Hiring: Panda Nanny

PANDAS, PEOPLE. Find your calling as a panda nanny. According to organizers, as a caretaker, you'll be tasked with "spending 365 days with the pandas and sharing in their joys and sorrows." Basically, you'll get paid to play with cute animals and be their best friend. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Maybe you'll get to push a panda down a slide:

Justin Lin to direct remake of The Shaolin Temple

Fast & Furious director to take on a 3D Mandarin-language blockbuster for the Chinese market



Whoa. The busiest man in Hollywood just added another project to his to-do list. Justin Lin, who recently wrapped up duties on the wildly successful Fast & Furious franchise and got handed the next movie in the Bourne series, is set to direct a 3D remake of the 1982 kung fu classic The Shaolin Temple.

Justin Lin To Direct Chinese-Language 3D Remake Of 'The Shaolin Temple'

There's no start date yet, and it doesn't even look like they have a script. But the film will be produced as a collaboration between Lin's Perfect Storm Entertainment, Beijing Enlight Pictures and Bruno Wu's Seven Stars, and aims to be an ambitious Mandarin-language blockbuster for the Chinese market.