A former University of Kansas chemistry professor has sued the institution in an attempt to be reinstated after he was previously fired over a conviction of Chinese espionage.
Feng “Franklin” Tao had his 2022 conviction overturned in July 2024 and is now also seeking compensation from the university for reputational injury and damages for lost wages, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Tao was originally arrested as part of the Trump administration’s China Initiative, which sought to combat Chinese influence over American research. The Biden administration ultimately ended the program in 2022, with one Department of Justice official saying that the initiative advanced the “harmful perception that the department applies a lower standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to that country or that we in some way view people with racial, ethnic or familial ties to China differently.”
“Professor Tao’s life, career, reputation and finances are in shambles as a result of KU’s egregious conduct,” the lawsuit says, as reported by NBC News. “Rather than embracing academic rigor and enlightened, critical judgment, the university allowed itself to join in fear mongering and racist witch hunting.”
“Rather than protecting its own faculty, KU acted as an arm of the government in prosecuting Professor Tao,” the document also reportedly reads.
The South China Morning Post reports that the complaint also alleges that, “Upon learning that Professor Tao had been placed in custody, KU’s Deputy General Counsel congratulated the FBI by phone text: ‘Job well done, gentlemen. Congrats, and thanks.’”
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”KU’s actions and discrimination against its own tenured professor – before, during and after his criminal prosecution – violated its contractual, ethical and legal obligations to Professor Tao,” the document continues. “KU was wrong, should be ashamed of its actions, and deserves to be held accountable for the damage it caused to Professor Tao.”
In September 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act, which Democrat critics have warned is an attempt to reinstate the China Initiative.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
