Instead of focusing on economic espionage and national security, the initiative now appears to be an umbrella term for cases with almost any connection to China, whether they involve state-sponsored hackers, smugglers, or, increasingly, academics accused of failing to disclose all ties to China on grant-related forms.

Now, an investigation by MIT Technology Review shows that the China Initiative has strayed far from its initial mission.

Started in 2018, the initiative was a centerpiece of the Trump administrationвЂ™s hardening stance against China. And a man sentenced for organizing a turtle-smuggling ring between New York and Hong Kong.ДЇor years, the US Department of Justice has used these cases to highlight the success of its China Initiative, an effort to counter rising concerns about Chinese economic espionage and threats to US national security. A Harvard professor accused of lying to investigators about funding from China. A hacker indicted for breaking into video game company servers in his spare time. A visiting researcher at UCLA accused of hiding his connection to ChinaвЂ™s PeopleвЂ™s Liberation Army.

Chinese lost saga