Activist Admits Sending China Technology

AP ^ | Nov 26, 2:25 PM (ET | CURT ANDERSON

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON (AP) - A human rights activist whom the U.S. government helped free from a Chinese prison in 2001 pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally sending $1.5 million worth of high-tech items to China.

Gao Zhan entered the plea in federal court in Alexandria, Va., to one count of unlawful export and another count of tax evasion. Her husband, Xue Donghua, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Gao, a permanent U.S. resident alien, was arrested by Chinese authorities in February 2001 and convicted of spying for Taiwan. She was released after five months in jail under intense pressure from the U.S. government and worked until spring 2002 as a researcher at American University here.

According to federal prosecutors, from August 1998 through 2001 Gao ran Technology Business Services, a business specializing in exports of technology to China. The exports were made to Chinese companies tied to "institutes" which perform research and development for the Chinese government, including the Chinese military.

Among the items sent to China were microprocessors that can be used in digital flight control and weapons systems, including identification of targets. Although these microprocessors also have commercial uses, they cannot be exported without permission of the U.S. government.

Gao was paid $1.5 million by China for the microprocessors and other items, but prosecutors say she and her husband did not report most of the income on their tax returns.

Gao faces a maximum of 37 months in prison, with her husband facing up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Prosecutors say they will ask for a reduced sentence because Gao has been working with the U.S. government to identify people in the Chinese government who are seeking to import sensitive American goods.

Gao was one of several Chinese-born academics, writers and entrepreneurs with ties to America who were detained in 2001 by China, contributing to tense U.S.-Chinese relations at the time.

Her release was secured in part by direct intervention from President Bush in a phone call to Chinese President Jiang Zemin and came only a few days before Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to visit Beijing.

U.S.-China relations also were strained in 2001 when a Navy spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea and was forced to make an emergency landing. China finally released the plane to the U.S. after three months, enough time to possibly remove some sensitive equipment.

[HardStarboard]

>>>....I say send them both to prison and throw away the key! <<<

.....send them both to China and do not let them re-enter the US!

[pageonetoo]

"Now we have an idea how much the Clintons got."

Indeed, if these guys got 1.5mil, they must have gotten close to a billion for their treachery!

[Revel]

Lets tatto "down with China" on her forehead and turn her loose over there.

[pragmatic_asian]

"Prosecutors say they will ask for a reduced sentence because Gao has been working with the U.S. government to identify people in the Chinese government who are seeking to import sensitive American goods. "

If I were the judge, I'd sentence that whore and her husband to the maximum punishment possible under Section III of Article III of the Constitution. The only reason I can think of for the US to secure her release after those acts of treachery was to ascertain the extent of the damage.

This kind of BS only makes it worse on loyal immigrants. A friend of mine (a citizen originally born in China) was falsely accused by a co-worker of selling secrets to the Chinese so that the co-worker could win a promotion they were both being considered for. My friend had reported an earlier attemp by the Chinese government to bribe him ($1 million for certain laser technology) during a trip to visit his wife's relatives in Shanghai. He obviously declined and disclosed the incident. A year long FBI investigation ruined my friend's life and turned up zero evidence of any wrong doing. Needless to say, he didn't get the promotion so he quit, started his own company and made tens of millions and lost all but a few million after the tech bust. The government contractor lost a great researcher though.

[jackbill]

This bitch should serve the maximum and then be deported to China. Along with her miserable husband.

[PhiKapMom]

That works even better because it would only cost a one-way plane ticket! What lowlifes!

[justrepublican]

The only reason I can think of for the US to secure her release after those acts of treachery was to ascertain the extent of the damage.

So why would he chinese release them ?

[pragmatic_asian]

The communists got what they wanted. I doubt they have much compassion for the people they use.

[tsomer]

I'm thinking the US wanted her free so they could get their intelligence mitts on her.

I agree. I also suspect the "human rights activist" label is a ruse to Chinese agents into the US. Are there any reports of the conditions of her imprisonment in China?

Gao, a permanent U.S. resident alien, was arrested ...and convicted of spying for Taiwan. She was released after five months ...

I can't imagine the Chinese being this lenient with espionage.