-Caveat Lector-
May 24, 2001
Beijing illegally bought circuits
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Federal authorities have uncovered a major Chinese technology
transfer
program that illegally purchased thousands of U.S.
radiation-protected
computer chips for use in Chinese missiles and satellites.
The military-related technology-buying program was revealed in
court
papers released in Orlando, Fla., earlier this month after a raid
on a
Chinese company involved in selling "radiation-hardened"
integrated
circuits to Chinese government missile and satellite
manufacturers,
including several that were sanctioned in the past by the U.S.
government for their missile sales.
The company, Means Come Enterprises Inc., is under investigation
for
"illegally exporting radiation-hardened integrated circuits to
[the
People´s Republic of China] without the required [Commerce
Department]
export licenses," according to documents obtained by The
Washington
Times.
Three illegal diversions of the missile microchips by Means Come
are
described in a 27-page affidavit produced by the Commerce
Department´s
Office of Export Enforcement before a search of the company´s
Orlando
offices.
Commerce Department, U.S. Customs Service and Postal Service
agents
raided the Orlando offices of Means Come on May 3, seizing
computers and
documents related to the microchip transfers.
Officials of the company, which has offices in Orlando, Beijing,
Hong
Kong and Montreal, could not be reached for comment. Jim Hoyos,
a
Commerce Department export control investigator involved in the
case,
also declined to comment. "It´s an ongoing investigation," he
said.
The illegal diversion of U.S.-made radiation-hardened computer
chips to
China was first reported in The Washington Times on Jan. 26.
The raid on the Orlando company took place the same day FBI
agents
arrested two Chinese nationals and a third man for stealing
Lucent
Technologies software codes and selling them to China.
According to Commerce export agent Roy A. Gilfix, who wrote the
affidavit in support of a federal search warrant, Means Come sold
China
2,316 embargoed integrated circuits in shipments in February, May
and
November
1998.The chips were made by Harris Semiconductor, a Melbourne,
Fla.,
subsidiary of the Harris Corp.
According to the affidavit, the radiation-hardened chips are used
in
missiles and require export licenses before being sold abroad.
Means Come Enterprises made its first export license application
in
March 1997, saying it wanted to buy 7,200 radiation-protected
chips for
the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) for use in a
satellite
project, the affidavit states.
The license was turned down in June 1997 because the sale posed
"an
unacceptable risk" that the Chinese government-run academy would
use the
circuits "in missile proliferation activities," the affidavit
said.
CAST and several other Chinese firms were sanctioned by the U.S.
government in 1993 for selling M-11 missiles to Pakistan in
violation of
U.S. arms proliferation laws.
A month after the export license was rejected, Kao Ahwan, a
Chinese
national, and her husband, Kao Shuli, opened the Orlando office
of Means
Come and bought the
7,200 Harris computer chips from Atel Electronics Corp. in New
York.
Means Come paid $679,000 for the chips, which were sold by Atel
for use
only in the United States.
However, Means Come exported the circuits without a license in
three
shipments in 1998, the affidavit states. "Means Come
Enterprises´
customer, the Great Wall Industry Import and Export, is a
state-owned
corporation in China´s defense aerospace industry," the document
said.
"It develops strategic and tactical ballistic missiles, space
launch
vehicles, surface-to-air missiles, cruise missiles, military
reconnaissance and communication mission and civilian
satellites."
Great Wall Industry also was sanctioned in the past for its sales
of
missiles to Pakistan, Iran and Iraq.
In October 1998, Means Come officials in Florida were questioned
about
the circuit exports and other weapons-related technology sales.
One
company executive, Francis Chan, was questioned by Commerce
export
control agents and told them the company recently sought to
purchase
"U.S.-origin nuclear electronics for export to the PRC."
The parts were to be transferred to the China National
Aero-Technology
Import & Export Corp., known as CATIC, the affidavit said, but
the sale
never took place after Mr. Chan learned it required a U.S.
export
license.
CATIC was indicted in 1999 for illegally diverting U.S.
aircraft manufacturing machine tools to a military plant. On May
11, it
agreed to pay $1.3 million in fines for using McDonnell Douglas
aircraft
machine tools meant for commercial purposes to make Silkworm
anti-ship
missiles.
The company also brought officials from China´s state-run China
Aerospace Corp. to the United States for inspections of
technical
equipment at its Orlando offices. The affidavit states that
China
Aerospace "specializes in various space products, such as
satellites,
missiles, launch vehicles and ground support systems."
Gary Milhollin, weapons proliferation specialist and director of
the
Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, said the chips have
military
applications and could be used by the Chinese military to
"improve their
ability to target U.S.
cities with long-range missiles."
Mr. Milhollin said the Bush administration should reverse the
Clinton
administration policy of "looking the other way and refusing to
put
Chinese companies like the Chinese Academy of Space Technology,
CATIC,
and China Aerospace Corp. on a special government watch list."
=======================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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