Chinese national busted for software theft in California.

World Tech Tribune.com ^ | Copyright 2002 - September 24, 2002 | Scott McCollum

[Scott McCollum]

Shan Yan Ming, a Chinese citizen and employee of that nation’s state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (PetroChina) is being held a week after was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on September 17th by the FBI. Ming, a 32 year-old computer programmer for PetroChina, was in Mountain View, California as part of a contract his company has with 3DGeo Development, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based provider of 3D seismic imaging software and services used by the oil and gas industries. Ming was arrested as he tried to board a flight for China carrying his laptop computer containing stolen password-protected files and copies of 3DGeo’s proprietary software costing upwards of $200,000 per copy.

[Scott McCollum]

It’s been a week now and the world is still waiting to see how PetroChina and the Chinese Consulate will spin this case of big money international high-tech theft.

[Texas_Jarhead]

the same way they always do...

with a donation to the democRATic party

[Bonaparte]

...since losing his imperial throne during the revolution, the former Emperor Ming has adapted well to the digital age, eschewing his old rivalry with Flash Gordon.

[Redbob]

Let me guess: Was Ming admitted to the U.S. on one of those visas we use for "high-tech" foreigners, because of a supposed shortage of engineers and computer geeks in this country?
The ones where there is not even the most cursory background check run?

[Scott McCollum]

Yes, but we must be careful about how we refer to Ming. Because he has been arrested by US law enforcement, he has been afforded rights counsel with amoral American defense lawyers. Those lawyers will make sure that we cannot call this obvious criminal as "a thief." We must refer to him as "an alleged thief." Therefore we must preface any "Ming the Merciless" jokes with a more legally-acceptable "Ming the ALLEGEDLY Merciless" moniker before the punchline.

Thanks for reading World Tech Tribune.com

[Bonaparte]

And not only that, we must also apologize to him for daring to enforce our own laws. In addition, we must provide him with a publisher, so he can write a book denouncing us for "persecuting" him. Then we'll have to bankroll a joint publicity tour for him and Wen Ho Lee.

[kezekiel]

"Comrades! We will attain prosperity and military might through theft, deception, and shady business dealings, while we retain political power through censorship, repression, and persecution! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!"

[Scott McCollum]

For those that have read the full article at World Tech Tribune.com; the question is if Ming (the ALLEGEDLY Merciless) is just a dopey digital thief that thought he could make it back to China with valuable American intellectual property before he got caught or is he a casualty of a racist American law enforcement regime backed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

[Centurion2000]

I vote dopey digital thief ...

[Scott McCollum]

Okay, so far that's one vote for "dopey digital thief" and none for "casualty of a racist, right-wing, big money Christian Coaliation-powered Bush Administration."

Anyone else want to vote?

[Scott McCollum]

Anti-American types are moving to compare the treatment of Ming to the software piracy cause celeb of 2001, Russian hacker Dmitry Sklyarov. Sklyarov created a program that stripped away copy protection code from Adobe Software's Acrobat e-book program and demonstrated that program at a hacker convention in Las Vegas last year.

When the FBI captured Skylarov, "libertarians" cried foul and started "Free Dmitry" campaigns pressuring the FBI to release Skylarov back to Russia (where he is today). Will the same happen for Ming and if not, why?

[AmericanInTokyo]

As I read Chinese (and other languages) thought you might be interested to know the Cultural Revolution poster you have there says, to the effect: "Study Greatly and Use Greatly the Brilliant Philosophy of Mao Tsetung Thought!"

Although I'd say the chap on the right with the drill bit in his hand looks a bit gay with a mischievous thought!

[Scott McCollum]

The person on the right in that poster is a man?

Wait, stay with me here people...

A Chinese national has been caught red handed (pun intended) with what amounts to a quarter million bucks worth of American goods at San Fran International by G-Men. This isn't Wen Ho Lee or Charlie Trie; this is blatant theft of highly-valuable American intellectual property being turned over to Communist China.

Doesn't this look pretty darn bad to anyone else? Where's the media coverage?

[PhilDragoo]

Chinese citizen and employee of that nation’s state-run China National Petroleum Corporation

Great Caesar's Ghost!

This cannot be!

Only the Great Hegemon and Bush the Belligerent are oil-soaked capitalist warmongers!

The People's Republic is opposed to the Petroleum Cartel!

This is most assuredly more of the Wen Ho Ho racial profiling!

Free Ming The Allegedly Merciless!

[dennisw]

bttttttttttttttttttt

[B4Ranch]

With 59 Progressive Democrats in Congress, China cannot be viewed as Communist anymore.

We are now a politically correct nation.

/ scarcasm off