The US Commission on Civil Rights recently issued a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch about targeting Chinese-American scientists for alleged spying and espionage.

As an independent agency of the federal government, the commission cited the unjust cases of National Weather Service hydrologist Sherry Chen and Temple University professor Xi Xiaoxing, and expressed concerns that the government may be failing to exercise sufficient due diligence. It requested to find out whether racial elements had been excessively considered by federal investigators and agents.

Earlier this month, several Asian-American lawmakers urged an investigation into whether race, ethnicity or national origin played a role in the recent cases where Chinese-Americans were wrongfully suspected. They believe it "appears to be a practice and a pattern of federal government profiling Chinese-American scientists as spies for China even when there's no credible evidence to support it."

According to Science magazine, in 2014, five Chinese-born scientists were accused of trade secrets theft or economic spying, but the charges were later dropped. Espionage cases involving Chinese-Americans have quickly been sensationalized in the US and yet often turned out to be wrong. Since the US Economic Espionage Act was passed in 1996, nearly half of the lawsuits involved China, or people with Chinese origins.

It's questionable what effects the urging of the commission can make in the US. The Department of Justice always neglects requests by Asian-American lawmakers.

The US' strategic anxiety about China's rise has exerted delicate implications on society's attitude toward Chinese-Americans. When an institution allegedly suffers theft, Chinese-Americans are often the first to be targeted. In spy cases concerning China, the US media is often excited to hype them up but then slacks off the reporting if the cases turn out to be mistaken. No people in charge would be held accountable.

This is horrendous. Cases resembling McCarthyism are produced through law and procedure, and no self-reflection has been made. If similar cases take place in China, there will be extensive criticism and requirements by governments to make corrections.

We cannot assert that US democracy and the rule of law are fake, but obviously they have major defects. The judicial system can easily be utilized for political ends.

The Chinese public has good reason to suspect that in China, US espionage is ubiquitous and US hi-tech companies have hidden spies. But China has neither hunted US spies nor pushed aside US companies.

The US claims it is a country that safeguards human rights more than anyone else and is a model of democracy and law. But it's time for the US to make some self-examination and rectification.