US professor Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao convicted of concealing China ties
- The University of Kansas employee was accused of concealing work he was doing for Fuzhou University while doing research funded by the US government
- Tao was one of about two dozen academics charged under the now-defunct ‘China Initiative’ in a crackdown on Chinese influence within US research
A chemical engineering professor at the University of Kansas was convicted on Thursday on charges that he concealed work he was doing in China while conducting research that was funded by the US government.
A federal jury in Kansas City found Feng “Franklin” Tao guilty of four of the eight counts against him including wire fraud charges in the latest trial to result from a now-ended Trump-era crackdown on Chinese influence within US research.
He was one of about two dozen academics charged in the US Department of Justice “China Initiative”, which was launched during former president Donald Trump’s administration to counter suspected Chinese economic espionage and research theft.
The Justice Department in February ended the initiative following several failed prosecutions and criticism that it chilled academic research and fuelled bias against Asians, though it said it would continue pursuing cases over threats posed by China.
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Tao denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, said in a statement that he would challenge the verdict post-trial, saying US District Judge Julie Robinson said she saw “significant issues” with the government’s evidence.