Chunzai Wang, an expert on climate change and hurricanes, had been employed at NOAA for the past 17 years. Dr. Wang is a naturalized US citizen. He won the Employee of the Year Award at NOAA in 2012 and a second award at NOAA in 2013. Wang was accused of supplementing his income without notifying his supervisor when he spoke at scientific conferences in China while on annual leave. He was paid a small per diem fee for mentoring students and helping them with research. He was offered a plea bargain if he pled guilty to one count of the charge. The Judge noted that this was a case that should never have been brought to court and should have been handled on a pre-trial diversion situation, at most. The prosecutors agreed not to issue a press release with the guilty plea, but did, making Wang unemployable in the US and possibly making it difficult for him to find work in China as well. Due to current situation, he has returned to China. CCS has written the Assistant Secretary of Commerce requesting reconsideration of this case and reinstatement to his position.
April 26, 2018
Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN Ret.
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 5128
Washington, DC 20230
Dear Rear Admiral Gallaudet:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We write to express our concern for our colleague Dr. Chunzai Wang. During his 17 years of employment at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) he was awarded both Research Employee of the Year (2012) and Scientific Employee of the Year (2013).
Despite his scientific work, awards and service to the United States government, Chunzai Wang, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was harassed and coerced by the U.S. Justice Department into pleading guilty to a felony (having received payment from the government of China for mentoring students in that country) and felt compelled to leave the United States.
As the judge overseeing his case – U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga – stated on February 20, 2018: “certainly he made certain mistakes here, but it’s regrettable that it could not have been taken care of, I think, by some type of pretrial diversion so that he would not be an adjudicated felon.” She added, addressing Chunzai Wang directly: “[Y]ou are a citizen of this country and should be able to come back and enjoy time with your family.”
We write to urge you to recognize that this was a case of prosecutorial overreach, and to take steps to ensure that Chunzai Wang is able to return to the United States (if he wishes) and resume his position and his important work at NOAA.
As a fellow scientist and colleague, yourself, we know you understand that, for the sake of scientific integrity and independence, it is vital that researchers be allowed to do their work without fear of harassment. Dr. Chunzai Wang, an accomplished researcher, should be welcomed back to the United States. Thank you for your attention to this serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
cc.:
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus:
The Honorable Judy Chu, Chairwoman
2423 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Madeleine Bordallo, Vice Chair
2441 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Ted Lieu, Whip
236 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515