China tells US to drop Cold War attitude after 'spy' arrests

[American Patriot]

China tells US to drop Cold War attitude after 'spy' arrests
afp ^ | 2/18/08 | afp

BEIJING (AFP) - China on Thursday told the United States to drop its Cold War attitude after US authorities arrested four people this week on charges of spying for the Chinese.


"The so-called accusation against China on the issue of espionage is totally groundless," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said when asked to comment on Monday's arrests.


(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[Ryan Ruck]

Well, when you put it that way, okay!

[American Patriot]

As I said elsewhere this morning, I think it is time to ratchet UP the "Cold War" spy attitude, and arrest more of these bastards, start making a big damned stink over openly Communist people, shoving Socialists BACK into the closet and forcing them to shut their big assed mouths.

I personally am sick of these people.

Against the Constitution? Not being tolerant? No, Yes. Damn right I am not tolerant of these asswipes.

[Ryan Ruck]

Arrest them? Aren't you just a big old softie!

[American Patriot]

Well, sure, arrest them. I mean if they are breaking the law, then they should have a fair trial, this IS America you know.

And there are laws against treason. Then hang them

[American Patriot]

Behind the Chinese Spy Roundup .....

(United States in China cross hairs)

Human Events ^ | 02/20/2008 | Martin Sieff

The mainstream American media hasn’t been deaf or blind to the case of four suspected Chinese spies being arrested across the nation last week, but the story hasn’t exactly caught fire either. A Google news search Monday listed only 105 stories on the case and most of those were on small or specialist web sites or in overseas publications. And what mainstream coverage there was tended to follow the old Joe Friday “Just the facts, ma’am” approach of the old Dragnet TV show.

But those facts are just the top of an enormous iceberg looming ahead of the United States. They reveal the focused challenge to American national security by the harnessed enormous resources of the People’s Republic of China. And they also document the real concern of senior officials in the FBI and the U.S. national security establishment to awaken the American people to the scope and nature of the threat.

On February 18 the FBI arrested four suspects, one of whom was an employee of the Department of Defense, Pentagon analyst Gregg Bergersen, 51 in Virginia. Across the country, Doongfan “Greg” Chung, 72, a veteran engineer for Boeing, was netted in California. Two immigrants from China, Tai Shen Kuo, 58, and Yu Xin Kang, rounded out the catch. They were captured down in New Orleans.

Federal officials said the men had been involved in two separate and unrelated espionage operations. The Chinese were pumping Bergensen for know-how in the U.S. space shuttle program. There was no hint of ideological passion for China’s authoritarian government as a motive. The days of useful dupes for Lenin and Mao are long such past as such. The alleged motive was money -- lots of it.

Other targets of the spy rings, the Feds said, were communications technology, which is simultaneously the jewel in the crown of America’s global military supremacy but also, if its secrets can be accessed and broken, the potential Achilles heel of U.S. power. Court documents on the case said the spy handlers also wanted details about U.S. weapon systems that had been sold to Taiwan. Chung was also quizzed about Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster, the giant air transport aircraft and the Delta IV missile.

These subjects are highly revealing about China’s strategic intentions and they are consistent with what we know about the strengths and weaknesses of China's arms industry. The Chinese have concentrated on an enormous military build up on their southeast coast facing Taiwan over the past 12 years. Its primary aim is to prevent U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups from operating freely in the Taiwan Strait to protect Taiwan from missile bombardments or even amphibious landings from the Mainland. In 2005, the largest joint military exercises ever held to that point between China and Russia practiced the problems of a large scale amphibious landing against a hostile, defended shore. The Chinese wanted the war games held close to Taiwan but that was too much even for the Russians so they were held far to the north on the Shandung Peninsula.

Targeting the space shuttle makes sense in terms of the Chinese drive to challenge U.S. preeminence in space. China in January 2007 startled the world by successfully destroying one of its satellites by exploding another one in an orbit close to it. Many other so-called Chinese weather satellites already have orbits remarkably close to important U.S. intelligence, reconnaissance or communications satellites which can be tracked and identified as such through their radio signal emissions. And China’s manned space program, while extremely slow by U.S. and Russian standards, has enormous resources and political determination behind it. Accessing U.S. space shuttle technology would therefore be an enormous boon to the Chinese in their attempts to become the leading manned exploration power in space.

For all the enormous and still rapidly growing scale of the main Chinese industrial base around Guangdong -- what used to be known as Canton -- the Chinese have so far not been able to reverse engineer or home produce their own state-of-the-art heavy lift air transport. Yet at the same time they are already budgeting to produce a powerful rapid deployment military airlift capability second only to that of the United States. The attempt to get as much engineering detailed information on the C-17 has to be understood in that context.

The U.S. mainstream media, with their usual attention span of a nervous tick, will do the odd major story when a sensational public development like last week’s FBI swoops is dropped into its lap. But then it will forget about the issue --and the dangers it raises -- for another four or five years. The plain-spoken warning of Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell that China's espionage operations in this country are now operating on a Cold War scale will be quickly forgotten, or shrugged off as some kind of cheap fear mongering.

But McConnell knew what he was talking about. The threat is real -- and conservatives above all others ought to be awake to it.

[Ryan Ruck]

Defense Department Analyst, Former Boeing Employee, 2 Chinese Immigrants, Arrested in 2 Spy Cases

A Defense Department analyst and a former engineer for Boeing Co. were accused Monday in separate spy cases with helping deliver military secrets to the Chinese government, the Justice Department said.

Additionally, two immigrants from China and Taiwan accused of working with the defense analyst were arrested after an FBI raid Monday morning on a New Orleans home where one of them lived.

The two cases — based in Alexandria, Va., and Los Angeles — have no connection, and investigators said it was merely a coincidence that charges would be brought against both on the same day.

The arrests mark China's latest attempts to gain top secret information about U.S. military systems and sales, said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein. He described China as "particularly adept, and particularly determined and methodical in their espionage efforts."

"The threat is very simple," Wainstein said at a Justice Department news conference in Washington. "It's a threat to our national security and to our economic position in the world, a threat that is posed by the relentless efforts of foreign intelligence services to penetrate our security systems and steal our most sensitive military technology and information."

An official at the Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In China, it was a national holiday and calls to the Foreign Ministry's Information Department and to a duty officer cell phone number were both answered by voice mail.

In the first case, prosecutors said weapons systems policy analyst Gregg W. Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, Va., sold classified defense information to a New Orleans furniture salesman. In return, the salesman, a Taiwan native identified as Tai Kuo, a 58-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, forwarded the information to the Chinese government.

The data outlined every planned U.S. sale of weapons or other military technology to Taiwan for the next five years, prosecutors said.

It's not clear how much money Bergersen received for the classified information, or if he was even aware it was intended for the Chinese government. Court documents portray him as nervous during at least one meeting when he handed over a diskette of documents to be recorded, asking Kuo to keep their deal a secret.

"I'd go to jail, I don't wanna go to jail," Bergersen said in a conversation taped by the FBI.

"I'd probably go to jail too," Kuo responded. Prosecutors described him as chuckling.

A third alleged conspirator in the case, Chinese national Yu Xin Kang, 33, served as the go-between for Kuo and the People's Republic of China, prosecutors say.

Kuo and Bergersen, who worked at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency in Arlington, Va., made an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge John Anderson at the federal courthouse in Alexandria. Bergersen was charged with conspiracy to deliver national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Bergersen, who was arrested at his home early Monday, wore a long black T-shirt and blue shorts. His wife, who identified herself only as Ofelia, told reporters Bergersen was innocent and the charges "came out of the blue."

Tai Kuo was charged with conspiracy to deliver national defense information to a foreign government. He faces life in prison if convicted. Kang, 33, who faces the same charges as Kuo, appeared briefly in federal court in New Orleans. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore Jr. postponed the hearing until an interpreter could be brought in when it appeared Kang, who cried throughout, did not understand the charges being read.

In the second, unrelated case, former Boeing engineer Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, was charged with working as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government who stole trade secrets from the defense contractor. The stolen data largely focused on aerospace programs, including the Space Shuttle, prosecutors said.

Chung, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was indicted last week on espionage, conspiracy and obstructing justices charges that were unsealed Monday. He appeared briefly in court in Santa Ana, Calif., and posted $250,000 property bond.

He has been the subject of an FBI investigation for nearly a year as part of an inquiry into another Chinese-born engineer who was convicted in 2007 of stealing military data for the Chinese government.

As early as 1979, prosecutors said, Chinese officials were tasking Chung to collect data on U.S. aviation, including the Space Shuttle and various military and civilian aircraft. At one point, Chung responded in a letter that he wanted to "contribute to the motherland," according to the Justice Department.

Over an 18-year span, Chung traveled to China many times to deliver lectures on the Space Shuttle and other programs, and he allegedly met with Chinese government officials there to discuss how to transfer U.S. data.

Chung, who has a security clearance, worked for contractor Rockwell International from 1973 until 1996, when Boeing acquired Rockwell's defense and space firm. He retired from Boeing in 2002 but returned the next year as a contractor. He ultimately left Boeing in 2006.

[Ryan Ruck]

Several Arrested In Chinese Spy Sweep

The FBI today arrested a Pentagon official and two Chinese-born residents on espionage charges for passing defense secrets to China, the Justice Department announced.

Gregg William Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, was arrested at his home on espionage charges. Tai Shen Kuo, a Taiwan-born U.S. citizen, 58, and Yu Xin Kang, a Chinese national, 33, both of New Orleans, were arrested in New Orleans on charges of conspiracy to provide defense secrets to China.

Mr. Bergersen worked as a weapons system analyst for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, in Arlington, which is in charge of U.S. arms sales to foreign nations. He held a top-secret clearance.

One official said the case involved the transfer of command, control, communications and intelligence equipment originally sold to Taiwan that was diverted to China.

Court papers state that the three men conspired to transfer defense secrets during meetings with Chinese intelligence officials.

"Today's prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat," said Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security.

Mr. Wainstein said in a statement that the case has "all the elements of a classic espionage operation: a foreign government focused on accessing our military secrets; foreign operatives who effectively use stealth and guile to gain that access; and an American government official who is willing to betray both his oath of public office and the duty of loyalty we rightly demand from every American citizen."

Such spy networks "pose a grave danger to our national security, and we should all thank the investigators and prosecutors on this case for effectively penetrating and dismantling this network before more sensitive information was compromised," he said.

Meanwhile, a former Boeing engineer was arrested this morning after being indicted last week on charges of economic espionage and acting as an unregistered Chinese agent.

Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, of Orange, Calif., a Rockwell International engineer until the company was bought by Boeing in 1996, was arrested at his home in Orange, Calif.

Mr. Chung, was indicted Wednesday on eight counts of economic espionage, one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, one count of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, one count of obstruction of justice, and three counts of making false statements to FBI investigators.

A naturalized U.S. citizen, Mr. Chung held a top-secret clearance.

"Certain foreign governments are committed to obtaining the American trade secrets that can advance the development of their military capabilities," said Mr. Wainstein in a statement.

"Today's case demonstrates that the Justice Department is equally committed to foiling those efforts through the arrest and prosecution of those who conduct economic espionage at the expense of our economic and national security."

The case involves the illegal transfer to China of Boeing Corp. trade secrets related to the space shuttle.

The investigation grew out of the Chi Mak and family Chinese spy case uncovered in 2006, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

That case involved the transfer to China of military technology related to U.S. Navy warships and submarines.

The case is expected to lead to a further curtailing of U.S.-China space cooperation, which was halted temporarily last year after China carried out an anti-satellite weapon test that left thousands of pieces of debris in low Earth orbit.

[Ryan Ruck]

Chinese Espionage

On Feb. 11, the United States announced that four individuals were arrested on charges of conducting espionage operations for the Chinese against American interests. One employee, who worked for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, was hours from meeting his Chinese intelligence service contact when he was arrested.

The reaction from the Chinese was swift and fierce. "A farce," they called it, and "Cold War thinking." We are to be assured that the accusations that China is spying on the United States are groundless.

I could not disagree more. While there is little broad agreement about U.S. defense and trade policy toward China, there is widespread agreement among security experts that China is systematically seeking classified information about the United States. These arrests were not isolated incidents, but rather just public examples of a long string of events that have been building over the last decade.

One reason China has been successful at obtaining sensitive information is the untraditional spying methodology used by the Chinese, which involves a network of students, tourists and industrial workers. In that regard, the Chinese have a huge advantage on their side — an increasingly educated population of 1.3 billion people with the potential to assist the government in espionage.

These activities reflect Chinese efforts to acquire knowledge that will position China to not only be an equal with the United States, but also to possess a dangerous set of tools that — given the right circumstances — pose a significant threat to the United States. To be clear, I do not believe it is China's direct intention to engage in a military confrontation with the United States. But, with an ever-increasing military budget, increased cyber attacks and stated efforts to form a blue water Navy capable of operating far beyond China's vast coastline, it ought to give U.S. policy-makers pause about the ultimate destination of our most favored trading partner's military might.

There are three prudent steps the United States can take now to responsibly address China and Chinese espionage.

First, we need to significantly reform our perspective toward China in our government, which currently is a patched-work quilt of stovepiped views determined largely by whether you are a businessman, a trade representative or an admiral overseeing the Pacific theater of operations. A better alternative would be to establish a "whole of government" policy to better align the policies of our State Department, military, intelligence services and other branches of the government. In doing so, we create a system to look at an issue holistically, which allows each player to work in concert, not in opposition. This is going to require reform to the interagency process, and particularly the planning, organization and decision-making structures.

Second, we need to recognize that 21st-century conflicts, if they involve traditional military platforms at all, will certainly also involve warfare on computer networks, informational warfare, anti-access strategies and attacks on satellite systems that are central — in the simplest meaning of the word — to our military capability. It will not be enough to have the most ships and planes; rather, it will also be who best protects their computer networks and satellites to guide and communicate with those ships and planes.

Finally, we need greater transparency from China. When I have traveled to China, it is startling how much information Chinese leaders and the public know about the United States. We cannot afford to develop policy and negotiate in an information deficit. Open dialogue among major powers in today's world community is vital. Without this communication, misunderstandings can quickly lead to missteps, which can have catastrophic consequences.

The difference between how the United States and the Chinese view transparency is striking. Last January, China shot down a weather satellite in an unannounced test of their anti-satellite capabilities, and then denied the test publicly for days. This February, U.S. plans to shoot down a decaying satellite were announced in advance in a press conference at the Pentagon and on national news networks — and the secretary of defense promised comprehensive information disclosure to China and other foreign countries to assuage any concerns they had. It is clear we need communication so that we can complete the second part of a central adage, "trust but verify."

The Chinese have many sayings to describe their philosophy on life. One is, "If you don't go into the cave of the tiger, how are you going to get its cub?" The Chinese are in our cave with 2,000-3,000 front companies and confirmed cases of hacking into Defense Department computers. Yet, at the same time, we are afraid to look too closely at the cave on the other side of the Pacific because we are afraid the cub might not sell us cheap consumer goods, or worse — it will sell off its U.S. dollars, sending the value of the dollar through the floor.

I firmly believe that when we know the threat we are facing, the United States has the capacity to deal with any threat, any challenge, better than any country in the world. We just need to take the threat of China seriously. Because the Chinese also have another saying, "The arrogant army will lose the battle for sure."

[American Patriot]

Yeah, we really should drop out "attitude" after reading this article...

Chinese Spy 'Slept' In U.S. for 2 Decades
Washington Post ^ | 4/3/2008 | Joby Warrick and Carrie Johnson



Prosecutors called Chi Mak the "perfect sleeper agent," though he hardly looked the part. For two decades, the bespectacled Chinese-born engineer lived quietly with his wife in a Los Angeles suburb, buying a house and holding a steady job with a U.S. defense contractor, which rewarded him with promotions and a security clearance. Colleagues remembered him as a hard worker who often took paperwork home at night.


Eventually, Mak's job gave him access to sensitive plans for Navy ships, submarines and weapons. These he secretly copied and sent via courier to China -- fulfilling a mission that U.S. officials say he had been planning since the 1970s.


Mak was sentenced last week to 24 1/2 years in prison by a federal judge who described the lengthy term as a warning to China not to "send agents here to steal America's military secrets." But it may already be too late: According to U.S. intelligence and Justice Department officials, the Mak case represents only a small facet of an intelligence-gathering operation that has long been in place and is growing in size and sophistication.


The Chinese government, in an enterprise that one senior official likened to an "intellectual vacuum cleaner," has deployed a diverse network of professional spies, students, scientists and others to systematically collect U.S. know-how, the officials said. Some are trained in modern electronic techniques for snooping on wireless computer transactions. Others, such as Mak, are technical experts who have been in place for years and have blended into their communities.
(excerpt)


(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

[Ryan Ruck]

Trial Delayed For Engineer Charged With Stealing Trade Secrets

A judge agreed Monday to postpone for 13 months the trial of a Chinese-American engineer charged with stealing military and aerospace trade secrets on behalf of China.

Kenneth Miller, the attorney for 72-year-old Dongfan "Greg" Chung, asked for the delay because he is involved in a lengthy trial, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples.

The trial was scheduled for April 8, but U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney agreed to delay it until May 5, 2009.

The government alleges that Chung stole trade secrets on the space shuttle, C-17 military transport and the Delta IV rocket during his decades of employment at Rockwell International and Boeing.