U.S. Appeals Court Overturns Conviction of University of Kansas Professor in China-Related Case

A U.S. appeals court overturned the conviction of Feng 'Franklin' Tao, a University of Kansas professor, for making a false statement about his work in China. The court found insufficient evidence to support his conviction. The case was part of the China Initiative, targeting Chinese influence in U.S. academia.

A U.S. appeals court has overturned the conviction of Feng 'Franklin' Tao, a University of Kansas professor accused of making a false statement regarding his work in China. This marks another setback for the U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to curb Chinese influence within American academia.

The decision from the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled 2-1, found that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the count on which Tao was convicted in 2022. His lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, stated that Tao is 'grateful that this long nightmare is finally over.'

The China Initiative, launched in 2018 and ended in 2022, aimed to counter suspected Chinese economic espionage and research theft. Prosecutors alleged Tao concealed his affiliation with Fuzhou University in China, which was relevant to funding decisions made by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. However, Judge Nancy Moritz ruled the statement incapable of impacting a funding decision, leading to the conviction being overturned. Judge Mary Beck Briscoe dissented, stating the evidence was sufficient.

(With inputs from agencies.)