Thank you, President Trump. This is long overdue.
3
Is there anything unusual about the way that this industrial spy was caught and put on trial?
Industrial espionage - a crime in most jurisdictions - was perpetrated and it occurred (in part) in the USA. The perpetrator was apprehended in another country (Belgium), which has an extradition arrangement with the US. No crime took place in Belgium. After due legal process, the individual was extradited.
European Union countries have similar, but not identical, arrangements as regards extraditions to the US. For the UK, for example, the criteria for successful extraditions are a) there has to be just reason that the individual cannot be tried in the UK, e.g. the crime did not occur in the UK. b) the individual has to have been *charged* - extradition for criminal investigation is not permitted. c) the charge has to be a criminal offence in the UK - e.g. lying to a federal official wouldn't be valid ground and d) there is no possibility of a death sentence.
This 'level playing field' seems to work OK. In fact, last year MORE US citizens were extradited to face British courts than Brits in the opposite direction.
The extradition of this Chinese just shows way the established process works. There's no special 'win' here.
This kind of arrest open to the public is rare and unusual. Normally, it should be under the radar and dealt behind the closed door. Obviously, the purpose of this is to humiliate Chinese government. I suspect something is gone wrong in negotiation between us and China. And the timing of this event occurred right after the not-so-successful trip of Secretary of State Pompeo to Beijing is peculiar.
#MAGA
It's about time we play hardball with our adversaries.
6
@BillFan - Oh yeah...?
And what about the russians, trumps bedfellows?
7
China built its economy after getting rid of its Communist socialist policies. Soon after, American companies could not move fast enough their factories to China, Apple a case in point, for low cost manufacturing. After learning from American efficient manufacturing process, China started their own factories, exporting low cost consumer goods all over the world. We benefited enormously from lost cost of China goods, from shoes to clothes, from machines to cars to high tech gadgets.
In order to solve the trade imbalance, our government should renegotiate with China; catching one "spy" will not solve our trade imbalance. Besides, the Soviet spies who tempered with our last presidential election, a far more dangerous espionage act to our democracy stays free livng in Russia and protected by its government. It seems President Trump does not want those spies caught for hacking into our election system. He has been very silent on that topic.
President Trump's constant remarks about imbalance trade with China is sowing seeds for hate and racism towards Chinese Americans. Chinese Exclusion Act was rescinded less than a quarter century ago, after WWII. Our memory of the pain of broken families is still fresh within our memories.
10
@Agnes
Americans did not benefit from cheap Chinese gadgets: CEOs and shareholders did. Everyone else lost as China systematically looted US know how and placed spies across the economic spectrum. It is probably better to pay a bit more and repatriate the companies than support an aggressive and brutal competitor.
10
Having lived and worked around Asia for decades, it has been discouraging to see the US generally being slow to respond to the threat Beijing presents to the world. The overall response that's happening now is a necessary, unpleasant process we'll have to go through if we want the world to be a world of laws and freedom, not a world of dictators and oppression.
.
Beijing is actively trying to export its "system of governance". One of their big selling points to "buyers" of their system (largely oppressive strongmen around Asia and Africa at this point) is how broken democracy is. Our current rabid partisanship in the US is Exhibit A.
.
We better find common ground and get back to finding ways to work together in the US. The real threats to our freedoms are external. It's time to face them together.
29
All nations seek to gain an edge on others through the use of "intelligence-gathering." The US has the most sophisticated and largest apparatus for spying, which might make prosecuting others seem hypocritical.
This is different, though, because it is less about national security for China--the ostensible reason countries seek to understand the motivations and capabilities of others--and more about stealing things that should be purchased. Due to being the innovation hub of the world, the US is also the world's largest victim of intellectual property theft and there have been few costs for the perpetrators. This is a good start to sending the message that it's okay to want to protect your nation but it's not acceptable to pilfer from others things you could buy or discover yourselves.
15
I'm all for cracking down on Chinese espionage. But this administration seems awfully selective in its willingness to tackle foreign espionage efforts. For example, given the FBI and the intelligence community's reports on Russian espionage efforts, the administration's response seems anemic. When Maria Butina was arrested, a bunch of key Republican and other conservative figures actually came out to discredit the law enforcement efforts against her in public even though the case hasn't even gone to trial out.
15
This type of action is long-overdue. But there's much more we all need to do that isn't as headline-grabbing as arresting people --
We need to avoid buying the (poorly-made) stuff from China that we've been addicted to buying over the past couple of decades. If you can't buy USA for some reason, then we should buy from our allies (yes, the ones we've been burning bridges with of late).
Additionally, the Federal government needs to get its fiscal house in order. China holds roughly a trillion dollars of our debt. If they start unwinding their holdings, that won't bode well for interest rates.
For years China has shipped us inexpensive stuff (that either we don't need, or isn't well-made, or both) and extended inexpensive credit to our nation.
We've left our economic flank wide-open with a major adversary...
29
For years the US has been shooting itself in the foot by opening trade with China for them to steal everything from technology to security.
However, the most overlooked concern is the number or Chinese students in the US, over 300,000 of them. Most come to receive the best of American education without any attachments or patriotism to the US. With the biggest economy in the world, China now attracts talents educated in the US to build their country.
American people need to wake up and realize that China, not Russia or the Middle East, is the biggest threat.
41
@Present-day HCM Didn't take long for this to degenerate into xenophobia. You know plenty of American students and businesspeople go to China every day, right? You know public universities are just that...public, right? Students from all over the world, not just China, go to those universities. And in any case, university academic publish their findings in publicly available peer-reviewed journals. That's how science and other scholarship works.
I'm all for cracking down on the Chinese government's espionage efforts. But tarring every Chinese student with the same brush is plain old xenophobia and racism.
15
@Present-day HCM, I agree with your assessment about the US shooting itself in the foot, in both government and commercial policies. I would submit that the biggest threat to the US is that we have sold our pharmaceutical industry to China, making us fully dependent on China for raw materials for our medicines, like the rest of the world. They have the weapons of biological warfare. For those unaware of the factual basis of this claim, i refer you to the well-researched book, China Rx by Rosemarie Gibson. Until we bring back that industry full-spectrum to the US, we are not safe.
3
@Present-day HCM A lot educated Chinese or Chinese American have remained in US as well working for American companies. And so many international business attracted US investors to make profit in China.
This is about the first move by the Trump Administration I approve of.
While I'm sure that China isn't "interfering with our elections," as the Vice President rather boldly proclaimed, it's well known that China has been stealing our product formulas and violating ourscientific patents for years.
Thus, if only to send the strongest of signals to China that the US will no longer serve as its private laboratory to rip off at will so they can throw up instant production lines for copied products, I hope this industrial spy gets the book thrown at him.
101
I can't help but wonder if this timing is to distract from Russia...
16
@ChristineMcM Yes, China never interfered US elections and neither did US to China. US just hired too many Chinese workers and contributors to US that "stole" intelligence from research. Jealousy is the number one fear in America.
Let me share a piece of British history. In the 16th and 17th century, there was no phone or internet. Stage coaches travelled long distances between towns and villages on lonely unpopulated roads. So highwaymen would stop and rob these coaches with impunity and little chance of being caught. So when they were caught they were hung. There is an inverse correlation between the probability of ever catching a crook and the penalty that must be imposed as a deterrent. If China or Russia can bring its military to the US level we are heading for another world war. Both want to expand their territory, in the case of Russia for prestige an pride, and in the case of China for food and raw materials to sustain a huge growing population. But severe penalties must be imposed in the rare instances their spies are caught.
1
I don't particularly like this President or his administration but this is long overdue. Those who see some kind of equivalency between Chinese and Russian actions and what we have done are, in the immortal words of my grandmother, "bug eyed insane". :-)
One man's opinion ........
3
Be very suspicious of news that tries to turn US against China and our western allies. Yes, there is industrial spying on all sides, but Putin and GRU are weaponizing media to result in chaos for the west. Nothing would advance the Russian agenda more than US war with China. Think about it.
So, Belgium extradited this spy to the US. That's not so surprising as it would be if China had extradited him. Such behavior would be something really out of the ordinary.
This "sting" seems to have been quite an ordinary operation and was successful. It will enhance efforts to stop Chinese agents from stealing technological secrets. I'm skeptical that it has a lot to do with the Trump trade wars.
I believe espionage and teft are wrong and building your strength as a nation and country (China) by stealing is weak and shameful!
China has been doing this for decades and it has been tolerated for far too long!
I am very happy that finally someone is doing something about it!
4
The captured person will say anything you U.S. wants him to say, in order to have less harsh penalty. They Chinese just want to improve their lives; their average income is still $8000 annually per person. They have no intention to hurt U.S.; they love U.S., glory of the world in their eyes. They want to be part of it. DOn't paint them as devils.
@Wenwen
The Chinese people are not devils. Their government, unaccountable to the people, is the problem. From the industrial and intellectual theft to the slow-rolling genocide of ethic minorities by the Han majority to the imprisonment of advocates of freedom, the Chinese Communist Party needs to be confronted for what it is and what it does.
2
I am always amazed by some Americans who believe that their country is always on the side of Good and God. Here are some examples:
Russian hacking of US computers compared to NSA hacking of world computer and communication systems.
Russian interference in American elections as compared to CIA interference in elections worldwide.
Chinese spying on American companies as compared to American companies stealing trade secrets from foreign countries and companies.
Russian and Chinese use of proxies to advance their regional interests as compared to American use of the same tactics on a global scale.
The Chinese and Russians are imitating the USA. They are defending their interests. However, for the time being, they are still doing it at a smaller scale.
9
The USSR did the same- reversed engineering- and maybe that has accelerated its collapse. So why not let the Chinese Communist Regime continue on that path to self-destruction...
4
"an all-expense trip to China to meet with scientists at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ..."
Finally. About time. This has been going on, brazenly, for decades in all areas of science, technology, business. The spy will get a trial and then be exchanged but hopefully concentrate a few minds.
7
Shot across the bow. I'm pretty sure the Chinese leadership is not going to take kindly to this.
I wonder if anyone remembers that China holds over a trillion dollars of US debt? That's a pretty large bargaining chip. Or rather extortion chip. Does anyone think that corporate America is going to let China pull the financial rug out from under us?
Stay tuned for nothing to come of this.
12
How would the US react if one of their spies was arrested and sent to China? The US, Russia, China all are spying on each other. Just wonder what would happen if it went the other way...
8
I am not a big fan of our President but on this issue - I am in total agreement.
18
Here's an oldie but goodie joke from the '60s & '70s.
"What's the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?
The optimist is studying Russian language. The pessimist is studying Chinese languages."
It's taken a few years, but here we are.
7
Trumps hardline policy with China is probably the only thing I agree with him on.
Having focused intensity on China-US relations over the last 15 years, directness is the only thing that China will respond to. The Chinese have been taking advantage of our dovish approach with them for too long.
Obama was a great President, but he was weak on China, and we lost in many ways due to this.
I am all for cooperation, but China views us as the enemy. Finally we are seeing some direct action around defending ourselves.
8
Article says, "Should China respond to the arrest, current and former administration officials said, it is possible that the Chinese government will expel American diplomats or intelligence officers from Beijing."
More likely than this; some poor Yank soul is going to see the inside of a Chinese prison. If nothing else, for trading stock.
3
Not surprised. The Chinese have been visiting every company they can to learn whatever they can for the last 15 years solid. And the American companies keep inviting them thinking they can hide their proprietary information, not realizing that they will take every scrap they see. And the students they send here get educated and work toward a better life. Until the Chinese agent comes to flip those who ‘made it’ into the good spots in companies and universities where they learn and develop the top secrets. The rest of students that didn’t make it can stay here. The agents squeeze their targets, get the info and leave. Everyone knows this. No one does much. The question is p: is this just smoke and mirrors, a showcase move; or is real and American agents start making inroads to stop the IP theft?
7
There's a lot to unpack here but the only thing I am sure of is that with China's paranoia and xenophobia, this is going to escalate very quickly and radiate to a lot of unexpected economic, military and political arenas.
I believe Trump unleashed this now to galvanize votes and patriotism but since China has no choice but to react strongly, that may not matter much if this first move goes exponential.
3
@ijarvis
Sorry, but Trump hate skews your judgment. All you have to do is read the article to know that Trump has nothing to do with the prosection of this thief. It's a totally clean bust and change by the FBI and the DOJ.
6
We should have been strict with China for decades, but we weren’t because there was so much money to be made.
American CEOs gladly went along with joint partnerships with the Chinese government, and were awarded huge, short-term profits.
Now the party is over. It’s obvious a new Cold War is on.
I shuddered when I saw the completely vacant stadium today in Shanghai when two American tennis players, Querrey and Fritz, faced off in the Masters tournament.
Commentators didn’t say a word. It was chilling.
37
Concern, yes, but not sure you can extrapolate a matchup that is hardly marquee.
Always remember that this increase in spy warfare and making it a public matter against China will not be one sided. There are most likely American espionage human assets in China who are monitoring its industries and technology that will be apprehended by Chinese authorities. They too will be paraded in a public trial as in the US. I hope the Trump administration has thought this through several moves in advance before escalating this theater of conflict with China.
9
Now that we revealed how this Chinese spy was caught, good luck trying to catch another. Others will just stay away from Western countries, but will be no less effective in spying against the United States.
3
“This unprecedented extradition of a Chinese intelligence officer exposes the Chinese government’s direct oversight of economic espionage against the United States,” William Priestap, the F.B.I.’s assistant director for counterintelligence, said in a statement.
I am sorry, but this statement is false just on the basis of simple logic. Extradition as such does not "expose" anything. I am sure US can make poor Belgium extradite almost anyone they wish. Public prosecution in a US court may expose something. Looking forward to that.
7
To argue that this is somehow commercial and thus not true espionage is disingenuous. The guy will be prosecuted under an espionage act, and the standard set by the White House as to what implicates national security (thus invoking espionage treatment) is shockingly low - steel and aluminum imports is national security; how can aviation info not be?
So now it is open season to hit spies, who have to look forward to decades in prison. The alphabet soup agencies had better come up with pay raises fast.
2
I still have and use a lot of my dad’s old American made tools in addition to cheap Chinese knockoffs that I’ve bought and thrown away only to replace by buying more. I just assumed it was because I didn’t know how to use and take care of them that they broke.
10
Of course Starrett tools are going to be much better than knockoffs, It’s just those companies that put “made in America” stickers on something that upon further investigation has been made partially, if not entirely offshore
2
At long last, the myopia of significant sectors of our corporate, academic, and government circles are being vision tested and corrected. It's long been a fantasy of businesses that China's lure of multi billion customers justified nearly any accommodation with the Chinese government. However, have been signs for a long time that their financial system is at high risk for over leveraged loans and under reporting of defaults. And now we are treated to stories of how western academic sinologists self censor because of threats that China will close the door on their access. We also know that we don't have nearly enough trained inspectors to ensure that goods made in China are safe and not shoddy. And, to top it off is the issue of piracy of intellectual property rights. It's a mess. I try hard not to have to buy Chinese although I don't apply that to Chinese American restaurants.
19
This should come as no surprise to anyone. This is Standard Operating Practice in China and frankly many countries outside of US. Stealing, to achieve a greater good, is not considered a crime by many societies. Not a Trumper, but on this stuff he is right on.
22
This is a good thing. I work in telecom and for years have heard whispers about outright theft of code and reverse engineering of our products by then emerging Chinese telecom companies. We now compete globally with those same companies. I am by no means a supporter of Trump (to say the least) but even a broken clock is right twice a day.
16
I despise President Trump but at least he understands what his predecessors didn't: China's ascent coincided with the largest, most brazen plunder of American intellectual property in our nation's history. Clinton, Bush, and Obama let this go on for decades with complete impunity. I fear it is too late to rebalance the scales, but at least this administration is doing something.
64
This is truly a surprising move, and not for the better.
In the spy world, if you are caught, you are extradited, or exchanged for spies that the other side caught. It is pure hubris to think that the hegemon can humiliate China by luring an operative to a third country and extradite the person to the U.S. and tried for allegedly breaking domestic U.S. laws.
Beyond hubris, it is sheer stupidity that shocks and awes. For each operative nabbed, Beijing would just nab three (there is never a dearth of American operatives breaking the laws in China). Instead of extraditing them, do a show trial and lock them up for decades.
Is that what its coming down to?
4
You have absolutely no proof to back up your statement
5
@Zhubajie
Just as with tariffs, China will soon run out of American spies to exchange for their Chinese spies. I am sure there are many more Chinese spies buried in the US than there are American spies in China. I am afraid China will then need to find other things to trade. Chinese compromised electronic equipment anyone?
2
This article doesn't make it clear whether the Chinese man had previously stolen trade secrets from GE or if this would have been the first confirm theft if he hadn't been set up. I am not trying to argue the Chinese government doesn't engage in this type of data theft, or that the person being charged hasn't engaged in similar things in the past. All I am saying the above scenarios are two very different things which will be viewed quite differently from each other by the international community.
2
What? Has everyone forgotten that GE SOLD it’s appliance division to the Chinese? And that company now operates in America?
No, it’s not the first confirmed ‘theft’. Boeing has already sold illegally the aviation technology to the Chinese and then simply paid the fine (it was McDonnell Douglas that Boeing bought). Boeing then sold a ton of jets to China with GE aircraft engines. They already bought and own the engines. Don’t know why they would want to steal them? I smell a rat.
We have been in a war with China for twenty years. But President Trump has been far tougher on China and Russia than public developments from the three previous administrations indicate.
Outright theft is the primary driver of military equipment development in China and constitutes a major part of the economy of North Korea. Yet, amazingly, Google and other tech giants think they can become partners with these creeps. They have no idea.
13
Well, it didn't take long for the comments to this article to degenerate into yellow peril. I am 100% in favor of cracking down on Chinese espionage, but a lot of comments are using it as an excuse for racism and xenophobia. One example is tarring all Chinese students with the same brush.
First, universities are not storehouses of secrets. The whole point of a university is to teach. Scholars publish their findings in public, peer-reviewed journals available all over the world. They collaborate with counterparts all over the world. And that's okay, because the vast, vast majority of research has no national security implications.
Second, if there are specific projects that are kept secret for patent applications, then it's not as though some undergrad have access to that stuff.
Third, if the Chinese want technology, they don't need to steal it from a university. They just need to offer a lucrative investment opportunity to a tech firm, or bribe somebody. That's how it has mostly been done: buy it from some all-American looking white guys. People forget the biggest security leaks in US history have come from such guys...Robert Hanssen, Aldritch Ames. In fact, considering how Trump gave ZTE a pass against all logic, the Chinese might already know who to pay off for all the secrets they want. They are just haggling right now.
15
I don't believe one word this administration says. It's not China that “represents the most complicated, most long-term counterintelligence threat we face", it's the Trump administrations disregard for the truth. Big business likes doing business in China -- so fix that. China "obtaining information" from GE and other US companies is the price they pay -- so fix that too. Congress and the FBI director Wray could halt any Chinese malfeasance if they prioritized it. Tariffs won't stop the Chinese -- so fix it. The Republicans don't have solutions they have wants and needs they want fulfilled. Follow the money, they don't leave home without it.
9
@LSW. Thank you. For me, I've no idea about what to believe (I'm sure that in some of what we hear belief is warranted) in the cases of Trump's identified "threats to national security ". Unfortunately, for me the wisest stance is skepticism of most that comes from the West Wing, and to expose myself to as many news sources I have time to.
1
Good. We need to address these issues. I would love to see the Russians who have been indicted in the Trump scandals also tried on American soil. Perhaps they too will sojourn somewhere we have good extradition treaties.
6
I applaud this move by the Trump administration. I am so sick and tired of hearing about China egregious spying and stealing of technology and IP. It's bad enough that we Asian Americans are viewed as perpetual foreigners and our loyalty to the US always questioned; I cringed every time I hear of China recruiting a person of Chinese nationality to spy in the US. Asians born or raised in the US are vested in our society. After 9/11, I was inspired to join the military and served active duty tours in Afghanistan. We Asians are offended and embarrassed by the newly rich Chinese (from China) who often act rudely and are unaware of social etiquettes. They drive up home prices and make it unaffordable for the rest of us. If China was so great, why do these newly rich Chinese come over here? Even though we look the same, we are NOT the same people.
42
@Twilight Zone
We as Americans would not wish to go to war with China over trade. Trade should be negotiated. Wars have been fought by U.S. for dubious reasons without any good outcome, from Korea to Vietnam in the past, and recently Afghanistan. Your resentment to Chinese seems overblown. Chinese from China become rich from having opportunities and the willingness to work hard, just as Americans or anybody else in the world. By the way, Russian oligarchs like to hide their riches in America. Wealthy Chinese invest in U.S. for security of our currency. We welcome foreign investments to keep our economy thriving..
1
Long overdue. Thanks to the Justice Department for this.
It probably can't be divorced from how you feel about Trump (and looking at the comments of others, it isn't). I don't know whether to give Trump any credit. On the one hand, he constantly attacks the people who achieved this and dumps all over the FBI and Justice Department every chance he gets.
On the other hand, Obama's Justice Department should have done this years ago, and Trump's just did.
I suppose there's also the possibility that it has nothing to do with either of them and the first chance to do this just happened to be now. Not sure that's likely, though.
Anyway - long, long overdue.
18
Nice that Belgium extradites and a wanted U.S. bad guy suddenly ends up there. That days after Mike Pence calls out China for legally advertising in a red state paper about tariffs, some kind of Chinese spy is brought to justice. And interesting that the MIA for crucial weeks F.B.I. director, Wray, decides to make an appearance only to say that even more than Russia, China "represents the most complicated, most long-term counterintelligence threat we face." Really? No, really, sir?
Thinking that the fix might have been in on all Justice Dept. matters concerning the Trump administration, was painful for the majority of the nation to contemplate. However, confirming that the fix is in, is somehow liberating in a who doesn't like to be right sense. We also know we'll get over it, most likely a few weeks before Thanksgiving. If we vote.
8
This is a brilliant development.
Stream the trial live on every conceivable internet outlet worldwide (including porn channels, if possible, given their high market share of viewership). Short of shutting down their entire internet, let's see the Chinese can censor that.
Time for some serious, gloves-off cyber-warfare with these thugs who have no respect for international laws and norms.
31
Watch out inflaming media causing nerve tension among people to start to have fight of monkeys...
1
I couldn't agree more. I think.
1
With the Russians seemingly 3 steps ahead of us in spy craft and psych- ops (media manipulation), a diversion toward China might be inferred.
In any case, with our president probably taking orders, I mean advice, on his back channel to Putin, they can play us by ear and Trump will just keep whistling their tune.
FBI won’t interfere and the foreign service probably can’t. It’ll be up to our intelligence communities to come to the rescue, if they can pull it off.
Bon Chance America...
4
Will American officers be arrested now but will NATO partners extradite them?. So now the US is arresting suspected spies but what will they say when the Chinese do the same. And Belgium showed to be America's lackey here just as Sweden showed in falsely accusing Snowden in effort to extradite him.
3
This is like third or fourth Chinese national who has recently tried to or has been caught in the act of stealing GE's tech. GE is too inept to protect itself from theft. And to the Obama haters on here who say he did nothing.....all of the Chinese nationals who have been busted trying to steal from GE did so ON TRUMP'S WATCH. But why let facts get in the way....
9
@In Pursuit
Yes, the Chinese tried to steal from GE on Trump's watch. And Trump did something about it. Obama never had the stomach to confront or punish China when it was plundering American IP to the tune of tens of billions of dollars a year. As a two-time Obama voter, I still want to know why that is.
4
So tomorrow the they arrest an American in Asia?
Of course Trump will not do anything to try to get them bac...
Russian spymaster for Powers!
2
I didn't vote for Trump, but, I will next time, for sure.
11
The one percent or capital has a subtle way to control the ninety nine percent or labor through the guise of us against the other. USA against China. It is called patriotism. Cold war or overt war to control the mob labor against capital. People may argue about stealing intellectual property. Westinghouse owned the patent of alternating current developed by Nikolai Tesla. Tesla died poor and alone at The New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan.
4
Weird photo of Chinese military officers marching past some government building. I'm pretty sure the spy looked pretty non-descript; like ours.
4
If only the Clinton foundation was in th White House we wouldn’t have such pesky issues.
3
@Dan Green
Being a registered Dem, I have no sense of irony or humor.
So, I want some of hat you're using.
It has got to be the best ever!
2
doesn't paragraph 6 indicate this a prima facie case of entrapment?
the movie Bridge of Spies was on the other night. How long before China starts grabbing American businessmen, tourists, and students?
3
Kirstjen Nielsen, political hack. We'll be really safe with her in charge.
We've already been defeated by our enemies. They've maniulated us into turning the government over to a confederacy od dunces.
9
We are now on the path to global failure!
The world today seems to be in the same place it was in 1917. Look at the political movements to the right in the USA, Russia, China, Brazil, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey, Great Britain, etc., etc., etc. These very movements dominated the world in the at the beginning of 1910. In less than four years after that date all it took was the frustrated Serbs believing that their cause would be served by the death of the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph. These two groups certainly were not a large part of the world but all it took was their desires to kill one another to lead almost the entire rest of the world into war. The human animal is not very smart, really. The war to end all wars was and is a silly statement for the real problem is the limited education of most on this planet combined with their misunderstood survival instincts which when combined will always end up having a majority needing to go to war. Today we are in a very similar situation in most parts of the world and the rightwing extremists in the US are simply dying to get all of us back to a war that no one will ever win, again and we are not alone. This world seems to be on the path to a regularly repeated global failure and the real sad fact is that the majority of those who will support this new war will end up paying the most!
7
Total waste of time for the FBI. There's 1.4 billion more where he came from and the Chinese government is happy to sacrifice them to achieve their spying goals. Better to beef up network security.
11
I wonder if Russian intelligence tipped Trump, now that they are attacking the midterms, he says, illegally trying to sway the electorate by running ads saying ‘China is a great place to live or visit.’
Notice as the midterms approach how someone seems to have taken away any net-connected computer from him?
The silence is deafening.
I guess he’s afraid somebody might ask about the NYT investigation on ol’selfmade’s fortune
.
1
"Chinese Spy Arrested and Is First Brought to U.S. for Prosecution"
The Chinese government will of course make a huge stink about this, with their usual whining about us 'interfering in their internal affairs' etc.
Meanwhile, they will be laughing at us behind closed doors - we only caught ONE guy and we're not even going to execute him! We'd have to catch and execute a hundred of their spies for there to be any deterrent effect at all.
9
Any comment from the Chinese government?
1
"Now, about those pesky tariffs..."
5
A war with China would keep the US military-industrial complex chugging along, and divert US citizens' attention from the $22 trillion national debt, collapsing social security system, and the fact that 2/3 of the US government is firmly controlled by just a few northeast Ivy League universities. Incidentally, will this new war be folded into the never-ending "war on terror" or will it be a separate war? It's hard for a civilian to keep them all straight. Why not just combine them all into World War 3, and be done with it? And why not get that new Space Force involved so that Earthlings could watch the action from the ground on clear nights?
26
This phrase worries me, "...attempting to steal corporate trade secrets from American aviation companies."
Did he or didn't he? Is this true justice or just a setup or show? If this is not a tight case, we will endanger Americans visiting or living in China.
Remember...China can play this game as well.
6
@JP1908
I'm sure that if the US were attempting to steal China's trade secrets, they would be very effective at catching our spies.
Globally, China is pretty much the United States' only natural enemy. That's been the case since we helped them beat Japan. (ironic, huh)
Americans visiting or living in China should probably realize that they're in a potentially dangerous situation.
7
Cut off China's microchip supply if you are truly serious about cracking down on intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices Mr. President.
9
Trouble is if you cut the supply of micro chips the Chinese will cut access to the rare earth minerals and composite that allow our tec industries to produce smart phones, TVs and most of our telecommunications. Good luck with that.
3
He isn’t a spy unless or until he’s convicted. Headline is wrong. I’m by no means a fan of China’s repressive regime. But this is wrong. Can you imagine the uproar if the suspect were American?
5
@Boo Radley - You Tell um Boo, only rapist get the brand on an allegation.
2
Great move by the Trump Administration. I don't agree with the president on much, but it's about time the United States cracks down on the Chinese and their evil activities against our country. They are not our friends and should not be treated as such. The time has come where we realize what China truly is: an enemy.
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@Zain I - And what about the russians? When is he going to "crack down" on Putin instead of kissing his... rear?
12
@Zain I
"China truly is: an enemy"....
Why? Because they provided us with consumer goods with their "too good to be true" prices while corporate America turned a "blind eye" to the forfeiture of technology in the interest of profit? I do agree that it's time to crack down.
Pogo said it best. "I have seen the enemy and it is us."
6
Long overdue, the net must close more often. The fish are there, let us catch them.
2
Expect Beijing to retaliate by taking a U.S. embassy employee or an American tourist hostage on trumped up spying charges, which will force the U.S. to make a trade to resolve this situation.
18
Let's remember this is the work of the FBI and our intelligence agencies - not the person who often disparages them.
118
@Terri Cheng
Trump can do nothing good or right.
1
@R. R. "Trump can do nothing good or right."
Yes, he is a remarkable failure. I didn't think it was possible to lose money running casino until Trump proved otherwise.
1
Yes if anything positive we MUST REMEMBER Trump is not responsible.
On this particular subject he's absolutely right. But so are the Chinese since the US has been doing the same thing for years.
7
I myself have a history with China. As I use technology in Colombia that in part was put in place by Chinese infrastructure investment, I am left with interruptions and slight of screen interaction when engaging with information that could incriminate my dealings. Currently I'm on a secure connection and have not experienced anything at this moment, but I am well aware of my involvement digitally and the influences I'm capable of if I were to not be highly contained in my publications. This includes blacklisting, warning screens of unsecure material and even loss of power. I'm simply trying to work and often times the modern world feels threatened by wanting to keep the simple culture of Colombia simple.
Good work. I hope we are as diligent with Russia as we are with China, yet, for some uncanny reason, I do not expect it to be so. I wonder why?
46
"We cannot tolerate a nation’s stealing our firepower and the fruits of our brainpower.”
Another nation working to influence our national elections is A-OK, though, as long as it benefits our monarch and his minions.
39
On matters of national security, I hope politicians will not politicize this and let the US intelligence agencies pursue this in court. No party should take credit, because automatically the other party will make it sound as of no consequence.
1
"Even more than Russia China represents ... (a) long term counterintelligence threat " according to a Trump administration official. Is this a real news story or a disinformation campaign to draw attention away from Russian hacking and the Meuller investigation? Just asking.
18
@Keitr
China is a lot more sophisticated and with much stronger military and economic muscle nowadays. So go figure. US has been naive about China’s ambition and its goals and it is time to take some tough actions. In some sense it is already too late because too many business interests have been involved.
3
Chinese espionage is a significant threat, and deserves a vigorous response. However, we must not accept at face value this administration's assertions that Chinese espionage is the most significant such threat. In plain terms, Mr. Trump, Ms. Nielsen and Mr. Pence have lied many times about Russian interference in our democratic elections. And they have every motivation to lie again. Their recent assertion that China is using tariffs to influence our elections is laughable. Countries always use tariffs in precisely that way. It goes without saying that this White House has done almost nothing to stop ongoing and future Russian interference in our elections. The unavoidable conclusion is that Trump and his Republicans would like illegal Russian help again. Given the racism of this White House, the usual racial subtext is almost certainly at play. China unlike Russia is not a white country.
39
Meanwhile, colleges and universities which have zero sense of security and protection of intellectual property work on very sensitive government and corporate research projects while working hard to recruit Chinese students (I am not referring to Chinese-Americans) because they pay full tuition prices without seeking student financial aid and are often stellar students.
Given the vast influx of unvetted and unwatched Chinese immigrants over the past several decades, I am sure Chinese intelligence agencies have a network of deep cover agents which would make Russia’s efforts look like amateur hour.
This is not an argument to exclude Chinese immigrants, many of whom have made great contributions to this country.
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@DSM14. Are you sure you haven’t just made an argument to exclude Chinese students? Sure reads that way to me. How do you screen 17 year old kids in China accepted to Harvard?
3
@DSM14
I would disagree that universities don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to IP security. For example, there are federal export control requirements universities must follow when it comes to certain covered technologies and/or foreign personnel. People often complain about the increasing administrative costs of higher education - well, this is one of them.
1
@DSM14
Virtually anyone who has family in China can be threatened sufficiently by the Chinese government to make them observe Chinese students' behavior, pass along a little information, promote Chinese 'interests' on social media or even actively spy.
Does anyone really doubt this? Someone could easily be American Born Chinese, or the offspring of American Born Chinese parents, and still have beloved grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins living in China. OF COURSE China would use them as leverage. The People's Government causes people to disappear there fairly often.
"This is not an argument to exclude Chinese immigrants, many of whom have made great contributions to this country. " - I'm sorry, but unfortunately it IS an argument to exclude Chinese immigrants. Unless there's some form of vetting that will find people who are willing to sever all family ties.
5
Trump distraction; Russia is the story of Trump. Saudis murdering an American journalist is the story; Trump sold Saudis $110 billion weapons; he will do nothing. Ray Sipe
6
This is ridiculous! Economic espionage, better known as industrial espionage, is something every country of the world does. Will the U.S. go after France seeing as that France is the #1 perpetrator of industrial espionage. This was confirmed years ago by Berry Smutny, the head of German satellite company OHB Technology.
4
I wonder what will happen to the Chinese studying in the USA, especially those on the graduate STEM fields.
1
Is China stealing technology for economic benefit worse than Russian money laundering through anonymous purchasers of Trump properties and the stealing of our election in 2016?
Donald Trump's fealty to Putin is treasonous. Arrest him.
37
It's one thing to reverse-engineer a gadget, then mass-produce it near cost. That's the Chinese way. For that, nobody has ever been arrested (to my knowledge). Certainly there should be legal recourse for intellectual property theft but that historically does not involve the U.S. government.
It's quite another thing to be arrested for espionage. My hope is that the Justice Department has slam-dunk type evidence so that no one can claim the U.S. is behaving badly. If this prosecution does not go smoothly, the waters will get real murky real fast and expect the reverse to happen to one of our officials in Beijing.
4
Chinese theft of US technology is a genuine offense long in need of effective redress. If the administration is serious about Chinese threats to national security, however, it would take a look at national debt, $1.2T of which is held by China. Saber rattling while sinking the US further in debt to China makes no sense to me.
58
My guess this means tit for tat! You arrest my spy, we arrest one of yours.
4
@J.C. Mac
"My guess this means tit for tat! You arrest my spy, we arrest one of yours."
We'd win that one.
China has about a million spies in the US, whereas we have close to none in China because we'd not learn much from China's top-secret missile technology, since we developed it last year.
10
@Fourteen How naive. You don't need to be a spy to be arrested as one. Just any number of Americans who have been held in foreign countries.
How about arresting the Russians and the Americans that worked with the Russians to throw our election?
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@SteveNYC They've been indicted. If we get our hands on them, you bet they'll be arrested.
3
So trump's getting tough, huh?
How many russiansis he going after, especially since they're the one's who gave him the presidency?
35
Why are we producing sophisticated products in China? Every detail of every item crossing their border is cataloged and used to China's advantage.
India has a less sophisticated intelligence gathering network, is far less authoritarian, does not see the US as a rival, and is friendlier.
Indian workers are as smart the Chinese and their wages are 5 times lower - so why are we producing anything at all in China.
15
We're a supposedly open society, although present trends aren't particularly hopeful about how long that may continue. One would expect that such openness serves to extend US influence and that those who picked up on it would serve as productive partners in diplomacy and business. In general terms, that's where we seemed to be in our relationship with the PRC for years.
Of course, some things remain secrets, but friend or "enemy" every other state certainly tries to acquire what it can. There's a gray area where the line between paying attention and actual spying becomes hard to distinguish. The CIA exploits that all the time. No doubt the Ministry of State Security does the same thing. Great caution is in order here, as we may end up foreclosing vital sources due to various reactions that might occur now.
Very interesting to reflect on all the staged drama from Trump about trade and tariffs since April 1. The imbalance in trade is only fractionally due to espionage. Mostly it's because the Chinese build and sell quality stuff at very competitive prices. In turn, Americans whose incomes are suppressed by corporate America's passion for jobs export and little else find the Chinese products enticing and affordable.
Spying may have occurred; but it's not the blame for corporate America's lust for bonuses at the expense of workers and the economy. Greed and mismanagement constitute the bulk of where blame should be fixed. Don't expect the truth about this from the White House.
24
It's about time! The new restrictions on foreign investment should have been in place 20 years ago. China's uncontrolled acquisition of US technology poses one of the biggest threats to the country.
17
We have spent decades building up Chinese industry and all the while, the Chamber of Commerce and other business interests made and discussion on holding back impossible. For example, if you build an iPhone in China, that is a gift of US technology.
Unravelling will be very hard.
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@Terry McKenna
"Unravelling will be very hard.".....
So true and will be expensive as well. Corporate America (with the American consumer complicit) has turned a blind eye and sold out their (and our) souls by turning a "blind eye" in the interest of profits. Now we are seeing the hidden costs of those "too good to be true prices" of cheap imports.
1
I would nervous if I were an American in China today.
We should have gone after China spying more aggressively a long time ago but we should also be prepared for the repercussions.
80
@Look Ahead True, and the Chinese have a very low-tech way of dealing with criminals: an executioner’s bullet to the head.
1