o.  Paranoia about Chinese "spies"


    By reading the L.A.Times article: "China Seen Using Close 
U.S. Ties for Espionage" by William Overand, which is a major
source for Mr. Eftimiades' book and therefore the CBS' report,
the picture becomes clearer.  This spy brouhaha is essentially
based on some vivid imaginations of some paranoid individuals,
who, sees the decline of the Soviet bloc, try to justify their
salary from the tax payers by implicating the Chinese, who,
in their minds, are week, dirty, lackluster and impotent,
..., and the right target to shit on.

    We will just list what the article presented to show how
paranoid some people are about the imaginary Chinese spies.
It's like Don Quixote fighting the windmills, although the
windmill did not cause any harm, it could be destroyed because
of the paranoia.

    Note that quite a number of these paranoid individuals works
for the government.  However they complained that the US government
is too nice and friendly to the Chinese!  The article paraphrased
"top U.S. counterintelligence officials" as saying that PRC's agents
"have surpassed the Soviets" and it is the "result of the 'friendly
nation' status conferred on China by the United States". 
(1st paragraph)  It was 1988.  The next year, China would show a
massacre to the world on TV and is not friendly with the US anymore.
And these people must be celebrating to have a target to shoot on.

1. the way to collect intelligence

    Mr. Harry J. Godfrey III, head of FBI counterintelligence in LA
quoted saying: "When you look at the Chinese, you have many small
individual collecting one small part at a time, and you don't have
the quality of case that our country will take to prosecute as far
as espionage."  "If you have a Soviet or East bloc spy case, you
have fewer people collecting more information. If you detect it,
it's clear what you have."

    In Mr. Eftimiades' book, he reflected, if not copied, the same
sentiment.

    The problem is, what on earth is espionage.  If you pick a leaf
off a tree from a park, you are not considered a thief.  But if
you pick all the leaves, or dig out the entire tree, it is theft.
If a Chinese touched some sensitive information, or made a copy
of a piece of information that he or she will use in his or her
work, it is NOT espionage!  A spy is a spy because he steals
systematically for a government!  Otherwise, he is NOT a spy!

    What a Chinese can do to avoid suspicion if he or she will
be a spy for picking a leaf off from a tree?  Oh Yeah, you don't
pick leaves.  You probably can't go to the public restrooms, too,
since you could be exchanging information there with your case
officer!

    According to these paranoid individuals, the Chinamen are not
supposed to do anything to begin with.  They should not be here
to begin with!  So if they did something made their eyes sore, 
they cry fire!   

2. the alleged spy "payment"

    So to prove that every Chinaman is a spy, the Quixotic Godfrey
has to prove that the these people are paid by a government, the
Chinese government.  How?  Mr. Godfrey said, "The Chinese form of
payment is a lot more subtle too [compared with the Soviets]. "
"Instead of a lump sum cleared through a dead drop, they will offer
legitimate business opportunities."

    How smart.  Anyone who does business with China are "paid" by
the Chinese government, and therefore a spy!

    When a man goes paranoid as far as this, he can't be convinced 
or debated.  He either has evil intentions with deep racial hatred,
or he needs a doctor.  (I think Mr. Don Quixote was a nice man but 
needed a doctor.  I am not sure about Mr. Godfrey, or CBS producers
for that matter.)

3.  Consulate as spy headquarters.

    There is an interesting example in the article.  China has
opened a consulate in LA.  Another spy expert Mr. James H. Geer
complained, "The opening of the consulate in Los Angeles gives 
them one more platform [to spy]".  

    However, the newspaper report finds that "Unlike the Soviet 
Consulate in San Francisco, which bristles with electronic spy gear.
There are no signs at the Chinese Consulate to indicate that it is
anything other than a visa processing center and diplomatic outpost for
the Chinese government.  In fact, the Chinese consulate, housed in a
building owned by the Plumbers and Pipefitters Pension Fund, is open to
visitors, a dramatic contrast to the tightly guarded Soviet Consulate
in San Francisco,  The Chinese even use the same American janitors who
clean the rest of the building."

    There is no question that the Chinese government, as every other
government on earth, has spy agencies.  However, to be so paranoid 
that any Chinese presence is deemed to be a spy threat, is really
putting all the ethnic Chinese at stake and no way to clean ourselves!

4.  another innuendo -- "grain of sand" story.

    "We have always compared them [the Chinese people, note the racist
tone] to grains of sand," the newspaper quoted.  "If grains of sand
were intelligence targets, the Soviets would surface a submarine in the
dead of night and send a small party to the beach to bring back several
pails of sand.  The Chinese would send 1000 bathers to the broad 
daylight and have each bather bring back one grain of sand."

     Very funny!