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As an immigrant country, the United States enjoys a unique advantage in talent—the ability to staff its foreign policy and military service with citizens born and raised in a foreign country of interest. Chinese Americans, especially first-generation Chinese Americans who are not only native in the Chinese language but also its culture, are naturally advantaged to contribute to the U.S. national interest. However, Chinese Americans are also the absolute minority (less than 1 in 25 defense civilian employees and military officer corps) and routinely face heightened, unfair scrutiny and obstacles when entering the defense establishment. This event invites a first-generation Chinese American who has served in national security positions throughout his career. Please join Lieutenant Colonel Hai Feng Peng, an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve who was born in China, for a discussion of his experience working in China-related defense roles as a first-generation Chinese American.
About the Speaker:
LTC Hai Feng Peng previously served as Deputy Chief – China, Taiwan, Mongolia Division in the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Joint Staff, J5, DD-Asia. In this position, Hai advised the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) in his role as the senior military advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. President by providing expert advice, information, analysis, briefings, studies, and reports on China, Taiwan, and Indo-Pacific region, both within the country and in a geopolitical context.
Before joining the CJCS, Hai worked as a Senior Geopolitical and Military Affairs Specialist in the Strategic Competition Branch under the Department of the Air Force. Hai’s extensive civil service experience also includes three years with the Defense Intelligence Agency at U.S. INDOPACOM. Hai also has over eighteen years of military service. He joined the United States Army New York National Guard in March 2002 and was commissioned as an Army intelligence officer through the Citadel ROTC Program in 2007.
Born in China, Hai came to the U.S. at age 17 and lived in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Columbia University with a Master of International Affairs – International Security Policy with a focus on East Asia, and the Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, with a Bachelor of Arts in History.