San Jose, Oct. 18, 2015, — What would you do if your family was awakened at dawn by FBI Agents, some with guns drawn, who entered your home and arrested you without telling you why? In this Post-Patriot Act America, do ordinary citizens have constitutional rights that protect against reckless investigations and prosecutions? What are the civil liberties implications for all Americans if Asian American scientists, engineers and researchers are being subjected to reckless federal criminal investigations for economic espionage because of their ethnicity, national origin or race? What are the academic freedom implications for professors and researchers if routine international collaborations can be monitored by the FBI and misconstrued as criminal activity?
These are some questions Joyce Xi, daughter of Prof. Xiaoming Xi, will address in a talk at Stanford Law School on Oct. 21.
Prof. Xi’s profile on Temple University’s website(file photo).
BACKGROUND
On May 21, 2015, Professor Xi was arrested and charged by the federal government for four counts of wire fraud, for allegedly transferring sensitive technology to China. After, Prof. Xi lost his position as the Chair of Temple University Physics Department and was forced to hire lawyers to help him fight for his innocence and to leave his work and students behind. On September 11, 2015, the US government dropped all charges. According to the New York Times editorial on September 15, 2015, “F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors appear to have acted with reckless haste” in the rush to find “China’s moles.” [New York Times nyti.ms/1F2pOU4]
“I did not know FBI agents could wake my family in the early morning and enter our home, point guns at my mother, sister and me, and forcefully drag my father away in handcuffs without real evidence of a crime. I did not know they could then obtain a search warrant to flip through our entire home and seize our belongings, including some of my little sister’s things. I did not know the government could restrict my father’s freedom for months and force him to fight for his innocence with only false and reckless claims against him,” wrote Joyce Xi in an article published on USA Today.
Speakers: Joyce Xi, Daughter of Prof. Xi, Shirin Sinnar, Professor, Stanford Law School, Ling Woo Liu (moderator), former director, Fred Korematsu Institute
Sponsor: Stanford Asian and Pacific Islander Law Students Association
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 2015, 7:30-8:30 PM Pacific Time
Location: Stanford Law School, Classroom Building 280B, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305
RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/spies-or-stereotypes-the-case-of-professor-xiaoxing-xi-tickets-19024252050
JOYCE XI, DAUGHTER OF PROF. XIAOXING XI, SPEAKS ABOUT HER FAMILY’S ORDEAL
“My father’s case reflects some of America’s most cherished ideals gone wrong. My father is a hard-working, innocent American who was presumed guilty. He devoted his life to academic research, for the sake of understanding the world around us better and contributing to his university and country — America. He had all that taken away from him in an instant.” [USA Today usat.ly/1LEKMVU]
PLEASE RSVP HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spies-or-stereotypes-the-case-of-professor-xiaoxing-xi-tickets-19024252050
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