Scientist deported by U.S. led Chinese space agency

Los Angeles Times ^ | November 2, 2009 | Claire Noland

[La Lydia]

Qian Xuesen, a former Caltech scientist who helped establish the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before being deported in 1955 on suspicion of being a Communist and who became known as the father of China's space and missile programs, has died. He was 98...Qian was credited with leading China to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles, anti-ship missiles, reconnaissance satellites and to put a human in space in 2003.

The man deemed responsible for these technological feats also was labeled a spy in the 1999 Cox Report issued by Congress after an investigation into how classified information had been obtained by the Chinese.

Qian, a Chinese-born aeronautical engineer educated at Caltech and MIT was a protege of Caltech's eminent professor Theodore von Karman, who recognized him as an outstanding mathematician and "undisputed genius." ...

[La Lydia]

Interesting that the Washington Post ran this in their print edition, but online ran a much more shallow AP obit of this guy, barely mentioning the espionage. This is either a great human tragedy or an espionage farce. And if he was a spy, why in the world did they ever let him leave?

[Tijeras_Slim]

Iris Chang wrote about this guy in detail in “The Tread of the Silkworm”.

[La Lydia]

So what was her opinion of whether he was a spy?

[Tijeras_Slim]

It’s been a while since I read it, but my impression was that he was pretty much given the shaft and turned against the US once he was back in China.