University of Kansas Researcher Sentenced to Time Served for Hiding China Ties

This undated file photo provided by the University of Kansas shows researcher Franklin Feng Tao. Opening statements begin Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in the trial of Tao, a researcher accused of concealing work he was doing for China while employed at the University of Kansas. Kelsey Kimberlin/University of Kansas via AP, File

A former University of Kansas researcher was sentenced to time served without fine or restitution for concealing work that he did in China while employed with the university.

Feng “Franklin” Tao was sentenced on Jan. 18 for one count of making a false statement.

Tao was arrested in 2019 along with about two dozen other researchers who were accused of concealing their ties to China.

He was convicted in April 2022 on the charge of making a false statement, along with three additional counts of wire fraud. The wire fraud charges were dropped by a federal judge in September 2022, however, as there was no evidence that Tao received monetary compensation for work related to the fellowship.

Concerning the false statement, jurors found him guilty of not disclosing that he had been named to the Changjiang Professorship, a Chinese talent program, on conflict of interest forms and grant applications for federal funding.

Tao traveled to China to set up a laboratory and recruit staff for Fuzhou University as part of that program but told the University of Kansas that he was in Germany instead.

Federal prosecutors sought a 2 1/2-year sentence for Tao. They alleged that Tao’s actions cost the school and federal agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars by defrauding the University of Kansas, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation by lying about work he was doing for Fuzhou University in China.

Tao’s attorneys sought a sentence of time served, saying the case had destroyed his reputation, his family’s financial stability, and an otherwise distinguished career. His defense team also noted that he completed the work funded by federal grants.

China Initiative Remnants in Shambles

The case against Tao was part of the Trump-era China Initiative, a Justice Department program intended to curb espionage efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state.

The decision by the judge to not issue a prison sentence for Tao will likely be seen as yet another blow to the legitimacy of the China Initiative and its successor programs, which have been marred by dropped cases and accusations of racism.

The case follows several similar incidents over the course of the past year in which federal officers arrested and accused people of spying for China only to suddenly drop the cases without providing clear reasons why.

For example, federal prosecutors in New York dropped their case against a New York Police Department officer indicted for allegedly spying on behalf of China’s communist regime earlier this week. No clear reason was given for the decision.

The China Initiative and its alleged failures ultimately led critics to accuse federal officials of racism and racial profiling. The Department of Justice, in turn, carried out an internal investigation, which found no evidence of racial bias.

Despite that finding, the department terminated the program, stating that it wanted to avoid the “harmful perception” of bias and would instead focus on national-level threats.