Chen's case was one of the more prominent examples of the China Initiative, a program launched in 2018 during the Trump administration. China has been actively trying to steal American technology, including by recruiting overseas scientists as "nontraditional collectors." Many of the prosecutions resulting from this initiative, like Chen's case, did not accuse researchers of espionage or theft of intellectual property, but rather of a more technical offense: failing to disclose Chinese affiliations in grant proposals to US funding agencies. These prosecutions have been criticized for targeting scientists based on their ethnicity and for potentially crossing the line between disclosure violations and more serious crimes such as espionage. Critics in academia argue that these prosecutions have created a climate of fear among scientists of Chinese descent. Chen was arrested on January 14, 2021, during President Trump's final week in office, on charges of not disclosing affiliations with Chinese government institutions in grant applications to the US Department of Energy in 2017. He denied all charges against him, but Department of Energy officials have recently informed prosecutors that Chen was not required to disclose his seven affiliations. This has raised doubts about the basis of the charges. The Justice Department is considering dismissing cases and possibly retiring the China Initiative, which was started out of concerns about China's attempts to steal intellectual property through nontraditional means. Officials from multiple administrations have warned about the national security and economic threats posed by China's global ambitions. The program has led to several convictions, including a Monsanto employee caught leaving the country with a proprietary algorithm and a Coca-Cola chemist found guilty of stealing a valuable formula. Recently, a jury in Boston convicted Harvard chemist Charles Leiber of six felonies after a short deliberation. However, some cases against academics have been unsuccessful, such as the acquittal of Anming Hu, a professor at the University of Tennessee, due to insufficient evidence of intentional fraud. The Justice Department has also dropped seven cases against researchers in recent months. The most notable case to be dismissed so far is against Chen, who became a US citizen in 2000 and is a respected scientist with strong support from his university. Chen, who has been on leave from MIT since his arrest, expressed gratitude to his friends and colleagues for their support during a difficult year and criticized the China Initiative. Despite being relieved that his legal troubles are over, Chen highlighted the continued negative impact of the China Initiative on the academic and scientific community. The decision to drop the case was made by the new US attorney in Boston, Rachael Rollins, after new information revealed that the Chinese affiliations in question were not significant to the funding agency. Rollins acknowledged the profound impact that charging decisions have on people's lives. In my role as the United States attorney, I will always support our prosecutors in conducting thorough and ongoing reviews at every stage of a case. The decision to dismiss the case against Chen today was made after careful consideration and is in the best interest of justice. When Chen was arrested a year ago, the prosecutor's office had a different tone. They implied that Chen's actions were not just about greed, but also about loyalty to China. The charges filed later were more limited, focusing on two counts of wire fraud related to Chen's failure to disclose certain affiliations while applying for a federal grant. These affiliations included roles as a consultant for the Chinese government and other organizations. He was accused of not disclosing a Chinese bank account with over $10,000 and providing false information to government officials in grant disclosures. Officials at the Department of Energy stated that Chen's undisclosed affiliations would not have affected the grant money. Chen's lawyer, Robert Fisher, praised witnesses who clarified misunderstandings about scientific collaborations and stated that Chen never lied. Fisher, from Nixon Peabody, expressed relief that the government recognized Chen's innocence, emphasizing that their defense was not based on legal technicalities. Our defense was simply that Gang did not commit any of the offenses he was charged with. The Biden administration is expected to make changes to the China Initiative soon, as the Department of Justice reviews its approach to countering threats from the Chinese government. The name China Initiative may be changed and cases may no longer be grouped together but instead handled by the National Security Division. Officials are considering resolving grant fraud cases individually rather than offering amnesty. Among those who are advising the Justice Department to refrain from prosecuting individuals based on grant disclosures is Lelling himself, one of the creators of the initiative, who is now working in private practice in Boston. In a recent post on LinkedIn, he expressed his belief that the China Initiative was originally meant to address espionage but has since veered off course and lost its original purpose. Lelling stated in an interview that it is important not to instill fear of collaboration and that the initiative has created a climate of fear among researchers in the academic community. He acknowledged that the prosecutions of academics have had some positive outcomes, such as encouraging research scientists to be more transparent about their Chinese funding. Lelling also noted that the prosecutions have been effective in deterring individuals, as the research community has been greatly intimidated by the initiative. "What is deterrence? It's when you don't speed because you're scared of getting a ticket. Deterrence is all about fear," stated MIT President Rafael Reif. He expressed his eagerness for Chen to return to his duties at the university and acknowledged the immense burden the case had placed on him and his family, describing it as "beyond imagining." Reif also expressed difficulty in coming to terms with the pain and suffering experienced by good people, whom they are proud to know, over the past two years. He mentioned the ongoing distress felt by Gang's friends, students, colleagues, and those of Chinese descent within the MIT community and beyond as a result of the case.