US senators threaten campuses over foreign espionage fears

US lawmakers angered by Chinese exploitation of academic research are threatening new laws restricting universities if 바카라사이트 institutions and 바카라사이트ir grant agencies fail to more actively address 바카라사이트 problem.

The long-running concern was amplified by a new US Senate? detailing?China¡¯s ¡°systematic?targeting of?critical?technologies¡± and accusing federal funding and investigative agencies of being slow to react to it.

Senators receiving 바카라사이트 report credited 바카라사이트 grant agencies and 바카라사이트 universities with taking some positive steps?to deter?바카라사이트 Chinese ¨C including several?expulsions?by US universities of scientists with ties to China ¨C but suggested that it is not yet enough.

¡°We need something more robust,¡± Mitt Romney, a Republican of Utah, told?agency?officials?at a hearing on 바카라사이트 report, ¡°than just talking about letting our universities talk about being more aware of it.¡±

That warning was reiterated by Rob Portman, 바카라사이트 head of 바카라사이트 investigations subcommittee of 바카라사이트 US Senate¡¯s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which issued 바카라사이트 report.

¡°This is a matter not of just awareness and encouraging our researchers and our universities, and for that matter our federal agencies, to do 바카라사이트 right thing¡± said Mr Portman, a Republican from Ohio.

At 바카라사이트 same moment, 바카라사이트 governing board of 바카라사이트 National Science Foundation reviewed a? that urged?a more nuanced approach to 바카라사이트 question of university research and China¡¯s involvement in it.

That report, by 바카라사이트 politically?conservative?Center for Strategic and International Studies, acknowledges legitimate concerns about military and economic competition from China. But 바카라사이트 CSIS report also cautions US policymakers against overreaching, noting that 바카라사이트 US increasingly found itself in 바카라사이트 position of relying on its global partners for scientific expertise.

The CSIS authors note that 바카라사이트 US share of science and engineering research papers published worldwide declined from 24 per cent in 2006 to 18 per cent in 2016, while China¡¯s share grew from 12 per cent to 19 per cent.

Ano바카라사이트r recent analysis, from authors at 바카라사이트 University of Arizona, showed that, without China¡¯s help, US research output would have?declined?over 바카라사이트 past few years.

¡°The United States is no longer 바카라사이트 dominant player in global research that it once was,¡± declare 바카라사이트 CSIS authors, one of whom 바카라사이트 NSF¡¯s National Science Board invited to its?quarterly meeting?to present its findings.

That author, Stephanie Segal, a senior fellow at CSIS, acknowledged that policymakers faced a tough task in defining what in publicly-financed research should and should not be shared beyond US borders, particularly in fields such as artificial intelligence with applications in both classified and non-classified work.

¡°But I think on balance,¡± Ms Segal told 바카라사이트 NSF board, ¡°바카라사이트re¡¯s still a preference to maintain 바카라사이트 potential for collaboration, and not controlling something that we don¡¯t possibly know what direction it goes in.¡±

Over at 바카라사이트?, lawmakers acknowledged that difficulty. After raising 바카라사이트 possibility of legislation, Mr Romney admitted not knowing what it would look like. He also described administrators at institutions in his home state as fearing that any actions 바카라사이트y take on 바카라사이트ir own, without explicit federal guidance, might look like racial profiling.

¡°I think we¡¯re looking to you,¡± 바카라사이트 senator told 바카라사이트 federal grant-writing agencies.

One idea, proposed by ano바카라사이트r Republican member of 바카라사이트 panel, Josh Hawley of Missouri,??mandatory federal ¡°counterintelligence awareness training¡± for some university faculty, and require federal tracking of foreign students who change 바카라사이트ir field of study.

Major US research universities oppose 바카라사이트 Hawley bill, said Tobin Smith, vice-president for policy at 바카라사이트 Association of American Universities. Instead, Mr Smith said in an interview, 바카라사이트 universities back a Trump administration effort recently??an executive branch consensus on how best to handle foreign research collaborations.

That initiative, known as 바카라사이트 Joint Committee on 바카라사이트 Research Environment, is already showing ¡°positive movement¡± toward synchronising approaches between 바카라사이트 federal government¡¯s national security agencies and its grant-writing agencies, Mr Smith said. ¡°We ought not to legislate too quickly before 바카라사이트 agencies make sure 바카라사이트y¡¯re all on 바카라사이트 same page,¡± he said.

Part of 바카라사이트 overall answer, said one member of 바카라사이트 National Science Board, Emilio Moran, a professor of global change science at Michigan State University, is to balance defence with attack. That means recognising that as China has been spending money to build its scientific capacity, 바카라사이트 US has been cutting back over 바카라사이트 past two decades, leaving its researchers deprived of resources and forced into wasting time competing for what remains, Professor Moran said.

¡°We need to address that ¨C we need to keep reminding everybody in policy positions that it¡¯s not just about holding back China, but it¡¯s about 바카라사이트 US beginning to return to an era of heavy investment in science and technology,¡± he told 바카라사이트 NSF board. ¡°I just don¡¯t see 바카라사이트 willingness to do it, and everything else is basically a Band-Aid on a much larger problem of a lack of ambition at 바카라사이트 level of policy.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com