*It's tough to be a global force for science in an era of high-tech ethnonationalism.
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China’s march toward digital Leninism is happening at a time of rising ethnic fervor and democratic retrenchment across the globe. Alarmed by the Chinese government’s abusive practices, and aggravated by xenophobic and racist agendas from members of the Trump administration, the U.S. government has placed heightened scrutiny on scientists of Chinese origin, shortening student visas and restricting access to certain research facilities. Government agencies such as the Departments of Defense have pursued policies that would limit funding to U.S. universities that have ties with foreign recruitment programs, in particular Thousand Talents. The recent abrupt dismissal of multiple Chinese faculty at MD Anderson and Emory University, regardless of individual justification, strikes fear among the Chinese American community with the appearance of racial profiling and the potential rekindling of “Yellow Peril.”
Some of the targeted measures are necessary to punish wrongful behavior and prevent future violations. The Chinese government sees science as a tool for national greatness, and claims to represent an entire people regardless of their citizenship or country of residency. However, when the U.S. government paints every scientist of Chinese ethnicity as a de facto agent of the Chinese state, guilty until proven innocent, such racist paranoia inadvertently gives credence to the Chinese government’s own authoritarian fantasy, and aids the latter in its talent recruitment and political influence beyond its borders.
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On the proxy battleground for technological might, scientists are spoken of as strategic assets, instead of human beings with desires and agency. Each time I see a headline or read an article on the tech race between my birth country and my adopted home, I feel the weight of a border on my back. How does a state take possession of scientific progress? Can a government lay claim to science produced by its citizens, within its borders, or through its funding? Is technological advancement an inherent force for good?
Every time there is a new report on possible military applications for emerging technology, I wonder how much thought has been put into the human cost of their deployment. Such analysis is often presented as competition between the world’s two leading powers. I understand the need for these projections, and respect the people who produce them, but each time I try to read their findings, all I hear is a voice of dread: “This is how I will die. This is how my loved ones will die.” What is the point of speculating who might emerge victorious in an imaginary war, when the horror of such a conflict is beyond imagination?...
