http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4704691.stm China's spies come out from the cold By Tim Luard Modern spies are not thought to be the shadowy figures of the past More than a decade after the end of the Cold War, spies are back in the news. But instead of hardened KGB agents lurking on street corners in dark glasses, the spy stories appearing in the Western press recently have been about fresh-faced Chinese students. Some are said to be engaged in research at respected foreign establishments, while others are enrolled as bright young business trainees in major Western companies. Their mission - or so the reports allege - is to use fair means or foul to gather technological and commercial intelligence that will help speed China on its way to becoming the next global superpower. Britain's Sunday Telegraph reported recently that a leading Chinese agent had "defected" in Belgium and blown the whistle on hundreds of Chinese spies working at various levels of European industry. Like rape victims, companies that have been infiltrated are reluctant to talk about it John Fialka, Author of War by Other Means The Belgian-based economic espionage network used a group called The Chinese Students' and Scholars' Association of Leuven as a front organisation, according to the French newspaper Le Monde. These allegations follow the case of a 22-year-old Chinese woman who was detained in France after being accused of "illegal database intrusion" by the car-parts maker Valeo, which had employed her as an intern. She has since been released. Police in Sweden also suspect Chinese guest researchers of stealing unpublished and unpatented research from an institute there, according to the Swedish radio Ekot's website. Gaining experience Chen Yonglin, a Chinese diplomat who recently defected in Australia, claimed Beijing had as many as 1,000 spies in Australia alone. But Mr Chen, a former first secretary at the Chinese consulate-general in Sydney, told the BBC News website that his lawyers had told him to say no more, for fear of jeopardising his chances of receiving political asylum. The cool response to Mr Chen's and other defectors' requests says much about current Western attitudes towards China. Whether in government, business or academic circles, there is a general reluctance to do or say anything that might unduly upset Beijing and threaten access to its markets - not to mention its vast pool of high-paying and often highly gifted students. Li-Li Whuang was accused of "database intrusion" in France China has sent 600,000 students overseas in the past 25 years as part of a conscious policy of developing its science, technology and business skills. While some belong to well-off families who simply want their children to get a good education, most are funded by the government and are expected to return to help their country afterwards. "It is very easy for Chinese companies or intelligence agencies to approach these students - who are often quite nationalistic - and get them to collect information that might be of either commercial or military interest," said Christian le Miere, Asia Editor of Jane's Country Risk. The recent defections suggest there are so many such contacts that what they produce could amount to a valuable pool of intelligence, he said. In one case that came to light in the US, Chinese agents are said to have put pressure on a recruit by telling him that his family in China was at risk if he failed to do what they wanted. But few such cases come to court, since they are hard to prove and involve people trained not to be caught, said John Fialka, author of a book on espionage, War by Other Means. "And like rape victims, companies that have been infiltrated are reluctant to talk about it. They don't want people to know they've been hoodwinked by their own staff," he added. Military connections There is often a fine line between what is legal and what is not. Asian societies tend to have a less legalistic view of intellectual property than some other nations, Mr Fialka said. But China differs from many other countries because of the way its economic entities are still intertwined with the government and military, he added. China has about 3,000 "front" companies in the US that exist mainly to obtain technology and military secrets, according to US officials. Chen Yonglin claims Beijing has as many as 1,000 spies in Australia Right-wing groups in the US, and opposition parties in Australia, Canada and elsewhere, are warning that Western countries may one day regret allowing China to take advantage of their openness and tolerance. The dramatic growth in China's economic and political power will soon be matched in the military sphere, they claim. But China has indignantly denied the spying allegations as fabrications stemming from narrow-minded fears of legitimate commercial and industrial competition. Louis Turner, chief executive of the London-based Asia Pacific Technology Network, says it is a natural part of the "catch-up" process to place people as close as possible to where the best research is being done and get them to send back information. "Just as Japan used to effectively steal a few tricks when it was learning from the West, I would be enormously surprised if China wasn't involved in some sort of technical espionage... and no doubt some of this is backed by the Chinese military," he said. But he said China was genuinely keen on two-way collaboration - and said the main factors behind its rapid progress in science and technology were its sheer size, economic dynamism and willingness to learn. Some of China's own universities are now producing world-class researchers, and some of its science parks are comparable with Silicon Valley in the 1960s, he added - "but with much more cohesiveness ... and on a much bigger scale".
Clutchfans has already been infiltrated. That's why Clutch's articles keep ending up, uncredited, on Chinese websites.
Wow, so much interest in China. Let me join the choir by chiming in with another pitch. China-Bashing for Beginners http://www.antiwar.com/orig/hadar.php?articleid=6721 July 22, 2005 by Leon Hadar He bought quite a lot of stuff at his favorite shopping mall over the weekend: cheap Chinese-made shirts (five), pants (three), suits (two), dresses (three), scarves, underwear and socks – and let's not forget those cheap Chinese-made toys for the grandchildren to whom he also sent e-mails through his personal computer, which was manufactured somewhere in Greater China. Over dinner on Saturday night, he praised President George W. Bush's costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as his tax cuts and increase in domestic spending. Yes, defense spending will rise, and the budget deficit will expand, but there is no need to worry about current account deficits, a weakening U.S. dollar, or rising interest rates. The Chinese central bank will continue to buy U.S. Treasuries on the bond market, protecting the U.S. dollar and interest rates. When he returned to his house in a suburb of Washington, D.C., he contemplated how the value of his mansion had tripled since he had purchased it 12 years ago. Some economic commentators have raised concerns over the popping of the U.S. housing bubble if the Chinese and other Asians start dumping their U.S. dollar reserves. But he is not worried, since he knows that the Chinese and other Asians won't do that because they benefit from their large trade deficit with the United States. In fact, when it comes to that trade deficit, his son – who works for a company that invests in China – is one of the beneficiaries. And so on Monday, after the long weekend in which he had become aware more than any time in the past of the rewards that he and his family – and most of the American people – are winning as a result of the growing ties between America and China, he returned to Capitol Hill. This is where he has been serving for more than 10 years as a lawmaker, representing a district in a state whose economy has grown as a result of increasing Chinese investment, he went on the floor of the House of Representatives, where he delivered a televised address in which he attacked China and warned Americans of the great threat that country is posing to U.S. economic and security interests. "We have to wake up and start taking swift action against China before it's too late," he warned, as he specifically denounced the $18.5 billion bid from the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) for Unocal, the U.S. energy company. His son's company should be permitted to invest in China, of course; you can only imagine the bashing China would have taken from our lawmakers if that wasn't the case and be accused of violating free-trade principles. But when it comes to a Chinese company trying to do business in America, well, free-trade principles don't seem to apply anymore. This U.S. lawmaker may be just a product of my wild imagination, but if you had spent a few hours last Wednesday watching the hearing of the Armed Services Committee on CNOOC's bid for Unocal, you would have no choice but to conclude that he represents the current anti-China sentiment that has been building for a while on Capitol Hill, reflecting security concerns, complaints of currency manipulation, and intellectual property theft, and representing a mix of economic nationalism, strident jingoism, and just a lot of good old hypocrisy. Grand Strategic Plan "There is so much heat in this hearing room, that perhaps we would now be able to resolve the energy crisis," commented one of the saner lawmakers after his colleagues, joined by a motley group of China-bashing "experts," accused China of a grand strategic plan to control the energy resources of the planet and use the "oil weapon" to destroy the U.S. economy and force the U.S. to surrender to Chinese demands on Taiwan and other issues. Indeed, committee chairman Duncan Hunter, a hawkish Republican representative from California, made it clear he wanted CNOOC's proposal to be rejected on "national security" grounds. It was not surprising, therefore, that most of the witnesses during the hearing, led by R. James Woolsey, former director of central intelligence, were promoting the same anti-China line and calling on the Bush administration to stop the takeover of Unocal by the Chinese company. Woolsey, one of the leading neoconservative figures in Washington, argued that CNOOC's bid for Unocal should be seen as part of Beijing's strategy for energy security in competition with the U.S. CNOOC is nothing more than "an organ, effectively of the world's largest communist dictatorship," is the way Woolsey put it, and allowing it to buy Unocal "should be beyond the pale, given the nature of the Chinese government." He didn't explain, however, why the central bank in Beijing should be permitted to finance the U.S. deficit – the economic security of the American democracy being taken hostage by the "world's largest communist regime" – and how American commitment to free trade would square with a move to block CNOOC from buying Unocal, even if that deal were to be approved by the shareholders. In fact, Congressman Hunter is considering introducing legislation to block CNOOC from taking over Unocal even if the deal is approved by the government committee that reviews corporate takeovers by foreign enterprises. The only voice of reason that was heard during last week's hearing was that of Jerry Taylor, director of natural resources studies at the Cato Institute, a pro-free-market think tank, who tried to challenge the notion that CNOOC's bid is part of Chinese policy to develop an "oil weapon." Providing the lawmakers with an introductory session in Economics 101, Taylor explained that oil is a fungible commodity and that owning petroleum in the ground doesn't provide any nation with "energy security" from sudden changes in the oil and gas markets. "Even if a Unocal-CNOOC transaction led to diversion of supply to China, it would have no net effect on the amount of oil available to buyers in the world market and thus zero impact on the price of crude oil in the United States or the availability of crude oil in the U.S.," Taylor stressed. But the free-market argument was drowned in the nationalist and mercantilist rhetoric on Capitol Hill. Ironically, the lawmakers were exhibiting what psychologists describe as "psychological projection" (or projection bias) – that is, when one projects his or her own undesirable thoughts, feelings, desires, and motivations onto others. Instead of admitting that you don't like Bob, you project your dislike onto Bob. Hence, instead of "I don't like Bob," you tell yourself that "Bob doesn't like me." Search for an "Oil Weapon" In a way, American officials and lawmakers don't want to admit that it is the United States that is engaged now in a strategy aimed at controlling the oil resources of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, which would provide it with a leverage over other oil-importing countries, including China. But instead of admitting that, they are the ones searching for an "oil weapon" against the Chinese; they are accusing the Chinese of trying to gain control over oil resources in order to gain leverage over the Americans. Apply the theory of projection and you'll be able to deconstruct Representative Hunter's following argument: Unocal is an investor in pipelines running through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey – "critical players and key U.S. allies" – and China's purchase of Unocal would therefore "dramatically increase its leverage over these countries and therefore its leverage over U.S. interests in those regions." But if one were to argue that America is perhaps hoping that its alliance with those "critical players" and other "key allies" (Saudi Arabia, Iraq) would provide the U.S. with leverage over China's interests – use the "oil weapon" against it – or that Unocal is serving as "an organ of the U.S. government," he would probably be dismissed by Woolsey and Hunter as "anti-American." Unfortunately, as they advance a mercantilist and anti-Chinese agenda, they should not be surprised if they discover that they helped to create a mercantilist and anti-American China.
This would have been a much more interesting thread if someone had uncovered a huge plot where all the adopted chinese female babies were pre-programmed sleeper agents. Unrealistic, but pretty devious and cool.
Swine Influenza Virus (SI), Flu Swine influenza is caused by a number of closely related influenza A viruses that are noted for their ability to change their antigenic structure and create new strains. Each serotype is identified by surface proteins referred to as "H" and "N". The three common strains that affect the pig are described as H1 N1, H1 N2 and H3 N2. There are also different strains within these serotypes with differing pathogenicity (capacity to produce disease). The incubation period of the disease is very short, as little as 12-48 hours and the onset is usually rapid and dramatic. It is virtually impossible to maintain a population of pigs that is influenza virus free. SI in large herds may become endemic with intermittent bouts of disease and infertility and different strains may also sequentially infect the herd. Immunity to influenza viruses is often short lived (6 months) and the immunity profile in the breeding herd varies considerably with time. Symptoms Piglets It would be unusual to see any signs of swine flu in the sucking pig unless disease entered the herd for the first time. Colostrum may prevent infection during the sucking period. Coughing. Pneumonia. Fever. Sows High temperatures which cause abortions. Widespread coughing. Pneumonia When the virus first enters the herd two or three animals may be observed sick for the first two days, followed by: A rapid explosive outbreak of inappetence and clinically very ill pigs. The effects on the reproductive system follow the sudden onset of a rapid spreading respiratory disease with coughing, pneumonia, fevers and inappetence. Acute respiratory distress persists over a period of 7-10 days (depending on the amount of contact between groups of sows). At a herd level the following may also be seen: A sudden and rapid onset of acute illness in sows. Coughing and pneumonia spreading rapidly. A return to clinical normality over 7-10 days. Delayed returns to heat after weaning. Increased repeats at 21 days. Increased repeats outside the normal cycle. Increased numbers of sows coming through not in-pig. Increased numbers of abortions, particularly late term. Increased numbers of stillbirth rates and slow farrowings. Premature farrowings. Occasionally an increase in mummified pigs. During the phases of high temperatures other diseases present in the herd may be triggered off. A typical example would be an increase in abortions associated with leptospira infection. Weaners & Growers Acute disease: Classically the pigs suddenly become prostrate. Breathing heavily. Severe coughing. Most of them look as if they are going to die but most of them survive without treatment unless the herd already has a respiratory disease problem. SI causes severe pneumonia on its own but when it is combined with other infections such as App, EP and PRRS an intractable chronic respiratory disease syndrome can develop. Severely affected individuals or groups of pigs are therefore best given antibiotic cover to prevent secondary pneumonias developing. Endemic disease: Here the virus remains in the herd, affecting small groups of pigs often weaners. It may be responsible for continuing respiratory diseases with symptoms as in acute disease but less dramatic. Causes / Contributing factors SI can be introduced by: Infected animals including people, pigs and birds. Carrier pigs. Probably on the wind although this has not been proved. Birds particularly water fowl, are reservoirs of infection. Secondary bacterial infections. Fluctuating temperatures. Stress. Wet bedding and floor surfaces. Poor nutrition. Diagnosis This can often be made reliably on clinical grounds with acute disease because there are no other diseases that are so dramatic in their onset and clinical effects. No other disease affects so many pigs so quickly. Blood samples taken at the time of onset of disease from affected sows and repeated 2-3 weeks later show rising levels of antibody to the specific virus. SIV can be readily grown from nasal and throat swabs and identified in the laboratory. This is often the best approach to confirm the diagnosis. In acute disease the spread is so dramatic across all ages that little else can be confused with it. In endemic disease however differentiation from other viral infections can be difficult, but PRRS, PRCV, AD and also erysipelas should be considered http://www.thepigsite.com/DiseaseInfo/Default.asp?Display=118
Yes there is. One day my fellow "Americans" may place me in a labor camp. Is this based on racism? The lefties seem to like to complain more about the PRC than Castro and the righties seem to be itching for a war over Taiwan. So much hatred for one of "our" biggest trading partners and creditors. I wonder if any of this bashing would exist if China was inhabited by white folk. good article WNES.
speculation, guessing, stereotypes, tossing out the race card... nice work, you've managed to put out quite a bit without providing a single fact.
He meant every country spies on other countries. Talking about hypocrisy, US and Russians spy on each other, Isreal even spies on US. US has the largest financial in information collection. China has spies in US? Big surprise! They are not like 007s? Big surprises again, they can be students, scholars, professionals, immigrants, visitors etc, just like spies from every country, just like spies US sent to every other country. By the way, I don't think that has anything to do with race. It's more about the rejection to the word "communist". US is allergic to that word. Russia used to be evil, because it was the biggest communist country; now it's China's turn. US don't care whether you are true or pseudo communists, as long as you claim it, you are evil. I am all for dropping that communist party title crap, they are not anyways, why bother? Bunch of corrupted officials, how can they be communists?
I could understand the anti-Commie argument a bit more if China wasn't an open, trading country who was crediting US debt. PRC isn't Communist. They are not expansionist. They do not espouse world revolution. One of the PRC's biggest national heroes plays center for the Houston Rockets. Why does it seem like Americans want Chinese to be an enemy. I've noticed an increase in the everyday racism that I face over the past few years and it is hard not to draw correlations with this growing anti-China sentiment.
It happend 50 years ago right? If you're not a minority you have no idea what goes through head of one sometimes. I've lived majority of my life in this country and grew up in it. Majority of my friends are non Chinese, for the most part I see my self as an American not to mention the passport. Yet something is always at the back of my mind, if the political tensions worsened between China and America, I can end up in one of those camps that the Japanese went to AND perhaps what's even more important to me, I would lose years of pay, earning experience etc that I worked hard t get. To this day, most Japanese failed to get reparation for what happened to them during WWII (and don't tell me that they are connected to their homeland and are a threat, most 2nd and 3rd generations don't even speak Japanese). I'm young and at this point, all I want to and should care about is the material life and primal desires, yet I am forced to constantly look over my shoulders. Guatamo might be happening to the Arabs, but whose to say it wont start including Asians as well, the patriot act has put a fear in me, and for once I'm getting disillusioned, that "9/11 changed everything" and that we are in a brave new world. I was a debater in high school and my favorite argument was that in this country, the laws stand to protect the minority, not just in skin color but also in ideology. "I might not agree with what you say, but I would give my life for you to be able to say it". Like I've said, I'm a fairly young professional right now, and there are pretty of things to keep me distracted at this point, but everytime I see an anti - Chinese post or news (and all of a sudden there seem to be quite a bit of those these days), I can't help but feel a chill down this spine. I still believe that there are good people in this country and it's just amazing how this country can assimilate and encompas people of so many different backgrounds, values, and experience with atleast begrudging acceptance. But every now and then, there is something that adds a little more doubt to the direction of this country.
The story wasn't from an American news source, it was from the BBC which is UK-based. Secondly, your post is an incredible stretch and reeks of self-pity. Losing years of pay due to being put into a camp for Chinese? You have to be delusional if you think something like that would actually happen. Don't tell me it's just like Gitmo, because those are enemy combatants caputured for the most part by US troops in Afghanistan and other war zones. Not the same thing as the Japanese camps at all.
Looks like a course on "Wen Ho Lee for Beginners" should be introduced. To ease you a bit, bigtexxx, I have to declare it has nothing to do with Bush.
What about those that were detained by the U.S. that were in suspect of being in alliegence with Al Queda without trial? I remeber several stories back when right after 9/11. At the time I though some one like ACLU would take up the cause, create a rukus, and our civil liberty would always be protect, but instead things like this seems to at most get some coverage then die out. These days, stories seem to get a lot of attention, but always lose momentum as many refer very easily and carelesly to 9/11 changed everything and just let things slide. What happens when a trully big event happens in the future involving Asians? Then people might be saying event X changed (like those planes being shot down a few years ago) everything and who knows what will happen? Self pity, no way it can happen? It happened just not long ago to the Japanese. I think the world has changed, I'm not here to argue, but merely stating that there are trends in today's political climate that concerns me. For the most part I'd like to believe everything will be alright, but like I've said, every now and then when I come into the D&D, I get a little more worried and sad. I think the answer for me is stay the hell away from D&D
yeah the dude was innocent, except for one count of mishandling information. even the judge called the case "embarassing for the nation". plenty of other folks at Los Alamos did what he did but they did not get targeted.
i hate to say this, but every people of color and who are nonwhite has been picked on by white people. from native americans getting their land robbed and being labeled "savages", mexicans losing their land, and european colonization around the world. it is interesting that europeans called nonwhite people barbarians, uncivilized, and subhuman when they are the ones invading other people and treating others like garbage. it is interesting that an asian indian guy in my group said to me, "man it is about time asians start to stand up and it is good to see asian countries like india and china develop more. the world has been picked on by europeans for a while." lol, this statement coming from an IT kind of guy. my taiwanese friend told me after we were discussing job offers, "dude, look around. white people own everything." that being said and the interesting statements i've heard, it's getting better for minorities though...and social progress has been made especially in places like California where minorities get treated better, up to the point that the discrimination is not really there or doesn't feel like it is there. most white people here, especially in the universities treat minorities as equals and your normal friend/neighbor and this treatment makes me at times unaware of skin color. it is amazinig how much social progress has been made, considering not that many years ago blacks couldn't even sit with whites, minorities couldn't even attend college, and white people would run away from minorities and wouldn't even talk to them. past history is embarassing though but it is getting better.
