Chinese professors face increased scrutiny due to Trump’s tense relationship with China

Chinese professors and students in the U.S. are under more scrutiny these days as the Trump administration has intensified its surveillance of academia. The administration is concerned about what it’s calling academic espionage, or the stealing of intellectual property and proprietary research. Some professors have lost research funding, others have been fired over fears they’re secretly working for the Chinese government. Some people in academia say this is a new red scare and that Chinese scholars are being targeted for their ethnicity. The Trump administration says it wants to protect American innovation. Many American universities, including the UC system, rely on the work of Chinese graduate and undergraduate students, and the tuition dollars they bring in.