o.  Racist nature of the spy allegations (L. A. Times)


    Another major source for Mr. Eftimiades' book is an L.A.Times
article: "China Seen Using Close U.S. Ties for Espionage", dated
Nov. 20, 1988, by Mr. William Overand (Times Staff Writer), also
contributed are Time staff writer Dan Morain in San Francisco
and Times research librarian Tom Lutgen.

    This article presented a paranoid picture of some FBI officials
in Los Angeles area, about the presumed Chinese spy activities.
It cited denial (as well as some evidence) from Chinese officials
and it also quoted Chinese American leaders discontent about the
allegations, in California.

    The article is also the source of some numbers that are quoted
frequently.

1.  "50% illegal exports"

    The article said, in 1988, China is "now the primary target for
U.S. Customs agents in about 50% of all illegal technology transfer
cases on the West Coast."

    The original source is a Mr. Hensley, who heads Customs enforcement
on the west coast.

    Mr. Hensley also said 20% investigations are about Soviet Union,
and 20% for Iran.

    The time is 1988, the place is in California, the cases are those
investigated.  This means that China was a major target, it does not
say that there are 50% of illegal exports are related to China.  It
only means that the US Customs spend 50% of their resources chasing 
China! 


2.  Racist claims

    The article said "FBI officials themselves say they fear their
comments about Chinese spying might be interpreted by some as racist."
No shit!  The FBI concentrated on illegal exports, in this report.
They are quoted at one hand that the Chinese intelligence only
work in the Chinese population, but on the other hand, they have
indicted, and in fact convicted American companies and American
individuals for illegal export to China. 

    The FBI official quoted in this article is a Harry J. Godfrey III,
who was the head of FBI counterintelligence in Los Angeles.  

    If anyone who gets an impression that China only recruit Chinese is
from this man.  And he seems to me a clear-cut racist!  Look, he cited,
followed by Mr. Eftimiades and the CBS, illegal export cases involving
China and some times Chinese individuals, as "facts" and "evidence"
that there are "ordinary" Chinese spying for China.  However, they
do not even have a flash of thought, when Americans are caught relating
illegal export to China, that they could be spies, too!

    No, the white Americans are patriotic citizens who just made 
mistakes exporting to China.  The ethnic Chinese exporting to China, 
however, are spies!

    That's what the CBS Vice President concludes!  

    He used a much smaller fraction to prove his point though, that 
there only "one in eight" or 12% of illegal exports are related to 
China. (This originated from US Department of Commerce reports).

3. American firms and individuals caught

   One instance was quoted in this article.  In 1983, Dual Systems
Control Corp. and two officials from the firm, Frederick Weekes and
Bernardus J. Smit, were indicted and Smit was convicted and sentenced
6 months in prison and fined $60K for violating export licence laws.


4. imaginations

   There is a lot of paranoia reflected in this article, which I'll
write a separate analysis.  Just quote here, the phrases "assumes" and
"considers" and such are use to guess (in Chinese, it's "xiang3 dang1
ran2") the Chinese spy threats.

   Some US intelligence "assume Chinese intelligence agents are on the
consular staff in Los Angeles",  the FBI "considers the CHinese to be
the most active foreign intelligence gatherers in California".

5.  Major Catch!

   This article, as well as each and every writings about Chinese spies,
seems to have this one and only golden example, Larry W.T. Chin.  
The article admits, "apart from the Chin case and related incidents, 
however, the FBI has no specific examples of CHinese spying that are
ever publicly discussed.  Most officials describe the overall problem
only in GENERAL terms."