Although the FBI and CIA claim to improve Chinese and US relations by recruiting Chinese Americans, their sudden spark of interest in Chinese activities and industry belies a hidden motive to spy on Chinese military intelligence and technology.

Both government institutions are hawking a new publicity campaign to recruit Chinese Americans in order to participate in their programs. A New York Times article stated that the FBI is specifically targeting Chinese students who are in the nuclear physics and aerospace related engineering programs at university campuses around the country. They claim to want to further the “evolving economic relationship” between China and the United States as well as “revitalize their counterintelligence unit.” The FBI’s concern with whether or not technology transfers between the US and China are legitimate spurred on the action of recruiting Chinese students, who will be able to use their ethnic status and/or language capabilities to easily penetrate clandestine activities or operations.

The CIA is also participating in a similar effort, where the organization is promoting an advertising campaign in order to recruit Chinese American spies and analysts. According to the Washington Times, a great increase in funding has been established in order to boost intelligence on China, and CIA officials are on the hunt to find ethnic Chinese who can “blend in.”

This method of using Chinese Americans to spy on other Chinese will tear apart solidarity among a strong ethnic group. The FBI and CIA continue to regard China with suspicion, but what is worse is that they are recruiting Chinese Americans to infiltrate people of their own ethnicity. In fact, the CIA incorporated the arrival of the Chinese New Year to promote their project. Their ad reminds Chinese American citizens that “the Year of the Ram is centered on a strong and clear motivation for peace, harmony, and tranquility during challenging times” and claims that they are “equally intent on [their] mission to safeguard America and its people.” The final touch: “You, too, can play a key role in this important responsibility.” In their effort to enlist Chinese American spies against the Chinese government, the organization twists the Chinese celebration into an advertising technique for patriotism rather than cultural awareness. Worst of all, this sudden interest is marred by an underlying suspicion of the Chinese that still permeates the FBI and CIA. “There is a massive Chinese presence in this country,” states Brookings Institution scholar Nicholas Lardy in the New York Times. “To separate those who are here legitimately from those with a government mandate to get a hold of proprietary technology is very difficult.

Patriotism and then suspicion? What exactly are the CIA and the FBI’s motives? According to Mark Mansfield in the Washington Times, “It’s an opportunity to reach some Chinese Americans who otherwise might not consider a career in CIA.” But underneath the façade of improving its counterintelligence unit, perhaps the CIA and the FBI are, in actuality, keeping tabs on Chinese technology and military advancements. Whatever the motive, this recruitment could cause unnecessary dissent among the Chinese ethnicity, as well as with those of other descents if the FBI and CIA continue to use this ‘divide and conquer’ tactic.