-Caveat Lector-
"Despite claims by administration officials that the problem was
confined to previous administrations, this case demonstrates that Chinese
espionage took place during President Clinton's second term.
"Energy Secretary Bill Richardson acknowledged on NBC news that China
had engaged in espionage during the Clinton administration, but did not go
into detail.
"Federal prosecutors wanted to charge [this particular spy] with
espionage but couldn't because the [Clinton] Justice Department disapproved
of the prosecution."
Report: Scientist Spied for China
.c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- A scientist working on a classified Pentagon project for
tracking submarines passed advanced radar technology secrets to China in
1997, The New York Times reported today.
The information about the radar technology, including a program in the works
for two decades, was presented to Chinese nuclear-weapons experts during a
May 1997 lecture in Beijing by Taiwanese-American scientist Peter Lee, the
newspaper said, citing court records. At the time, Lee was working for TRW
Inc., which was doing work for the Pentagon.
Technology to detect and track submarines is closely guarded by the Pentagon
because the Navy's ability to hide its submarines is a crucial military
advantage.
The case shows alleged Chinese espionage took place during President
Clinton's second term. After assertions of Chinese-orchestrated theft of
nuclear secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory emerged earlier this
year, U.S. officials had said the problem was confined to previous
administrations.
On Sunday, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson acknowledged on the NBC news
program ``Meet the Press'' that China had engaged in espionage during the
Clinton administration, but did not go into detail.
Federal prosecutors wanted to charge Lee with espionage but couldn't in part
because the Navy refused to allow open-court testimony about the
anti-submarine warfare technology, the newspaper quoted unidentified law
enforcement officials as saying. The Justice Department also disapproved of
the prosecution.
Instead, Lee pleaded guilty to filing a false statement about the 1997 trip
to China and to revealing classified laser data during a 1985 trip to China.
The FBI watched Lee from the 1980s but did not prevent him from traveling to
Beijing in 1997 when he discussed his work on the submarine-tracking project,
the Times said. He had told his employer, TRW, that he was going to China
only for sightseeing and pleasure.
At Lee's sentencing on March 26, 1998, prosecutor Jonathan Shapiro told the
judge that Lee's activities struck at the heart of national security, the
Times reported, citing unidentified witnesses at the hearing.
But Lee and his lawyer said the scientist had simply made mistakes and never
intended to help a foreign country or harm the United States.
Lee was sentenced to a year in a halfway house with three years' probation
and a $20,000 fine.
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