So far, eight have ended in convictions or pleas. In the last three years, the department says it has brought 16 economic espionage or trade theft cases with a link to China and 12 involving alleged grant fraud. LUCAS: Justice Department officials say they are sensitive to such concerns and that their investigations are based on an individual's conduct, not ethnicity. JENNY LEE: They are concerned that any connection with China - this may mean collaborating on a research project, visiting China, applying for a grant or working and collecting data, analyzing data - any extent of that would open themselves up for potential investigation by the FBI. One thing she heard back from Chinese Americans and Chinese nationals in the U.S. University of Arizona professor Jenny Lee led a recent survey of scientists at leading U.S. She and other advocates say that fear runs especially deep among scientists at American colleges and research labs. LUCAS: Gisela Kusakawa is a staff attorney for the civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice. GISELA KUSAKAWA: There is this fear in the community that economic espionage, that this national security threat, is just being used as a pretext. Critics say the program amounts to racial profiling and has created a climate of fear among Asian Americans, particularly those of Chinese descent. LUCAS: Despite such assurances from Garland, the department's China Initiative has come under fire. GARLAND: We never investigate or prosecute based on ethnic identity, on what country a person is from or came from or their family. At the same time, he sought to assure lawmakers that the department plays things straight. LUCAS: And the department, he said, has an obligation to protect the country against this threat. They represent a serious threat with respect to espionage. MERRICK GARLAND: One is that the People's Republic of China is a serious threat to our intellectual property. He said there are two important things to bear in mind. RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: At a congressional hearing last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland was asked about the Justice Department's China Initiative. Critics say that initiative also has created a climate of fear among Chinese Americans. Justice Department called the China Initiative aims to counter the Chinese government's theft of American secrets and technology.
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