FBI official admits mistakes, vows to improve relations with Asian-American communities

In an unusual public admission, a senior FBI official told an audience of Asian-Americans that some of the bureau’s past actions have had a “negative impact” on the community but that “certainly was not the intent”.

Jill Murphy, deputy assistant director of counter-intelligence at the FBI, took part in an open dialogue between agents of the top US law enforcement agency and the academic and Asian-American communities when she spoke at Rice University in Houston on Thursday.

The event, sponsored by Rice’s Baker Institute and Office of Innovation and advocacy groups like the Asian Pacific American Justice Task Force, marked a milestone as it brought together FBI officials, field agents, community leaders, activists and scientists for the first time on a livestream. More than 400 participants from across the country tuned in to the two-hour session.

Amid criticism of the FBI’s role in the now-disbanded China Initiative and its lingering repercussions for individuals of Chinese ethnicity or with ties to China, the Bureau is attempting an outreach effort with a clear message: we acknowledge past missteps and seek the community’s assistance in countering the Chinese Communist Party and its government.

“We really need to spend time listening to you and your concerns, and we’re not always right, and we can always be better. We need open lines of communication,” said Murphy, who moved to Chinese counter-intelligence in 2010 and later served on the National Security Council.

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Chinese-American scientists fear US racial profiling

Chinese-American scientists fear US racial profiling

Launched in 2018 under then US president Donald Trump, the China initiative targeted individuals suspected of transferring sensitive technologies to China. Hundreds of scholars with Chinese heritage were investigated by the FBI, but ultimately there were no espionage convictions.