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May 1999 China
Special Weapons News

• China Says U.S. Nuclear 'Secrets' Are On Internet By Matt Pottinger BEIJING (Reuters) Monday May 31 7:41 AM ET - China sneered Monday at allegations it stole U.S. nuclear weapons secrets, saying warhead technology is readily available in libraries and on the Internet. ``Performance data on the seven types of nuclear warheads ... have long been openly published in the United States,'' cabinet spokesman Zhao Qizheng told reporters. At a Web site registered to the Federation of American Scientists (http:/www.fas.org), he showed graphics and data on the dimensions and yields of nuclear bombs included in the Cox report.
• State Council on Cox Report Voice of America Beijing Zhongguo Xinwen She -- 31 May 1999 Comparative version of report on State Council Information Office Director Zhao Qizheng criticizing US "Cox Report," originally filed from Beijing Xinhua Domestic in Chinese.
• U.S.-Concocted "Cox Report" A Farce to Instigate Anti-China Feelings, Undermine Sino-U.S. Relations: Zhao Qizheng BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) Performance data on the seven types of nuclear warheads -- W56, W62, W70, W76, W78, W87 and W88 -- have long been openly published in the United States, he said. For instance, the U.S. Nuclear Forces and Capability, the first volume of the Nuclear Weapons Databook, written by Thomas B. Cochran and other in 1984, and U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History, written by Chuck Hansen in 1988, all make a detailed introduction to the aforementioned nuclear warheads. Moreover, in recent years, performance data about various types of nuclear warheads, ranging from the early MK-1 to the latest W88, can easily be found on the Internet.
• Report finds China shared U.S. secrets Lincoln Journal Star Monday, May. 31, 1999 -- Charles Ferguson, an analyst for the Federation of American Scientists, a Washington-based think tank. Ferguson is a physicist, former naval officer and Los Alamos weapons lab scientist said, "It still leaves one wondering how much information China has and how useful it is."
• Analysts: China's nukes not a threat By Eric Rosenberg San Francisco Examiner Monday, May 31, 1999 -- "If China has greater confidence in its arsenal, that would contribute to greater stability with the United States," said Steven Aftergood, a nuclear weapons analyst with the Federation of American Scientists, a nonpartisan military research organization.
• The US-Concocted "Cox Report": A Farce to Instigate Anti-China Feelings and Undermine Sino-US Relations Zhao Qizheng, Minister of Information Office of the State Council (May 31, 1999) A number of American anti-China politicians, represented by Christopher Cox, dished out a tedious so-called investigation report on May 25, after more than half a year of careful scheming. The Chinese Government and people are strongly indignant over this groundless attack that fabricates facts and confuses black and white.
• CHINA / U-S Voice of America 31 May 1999 -- USING WORDS LIKE "ABSURD", "RIDICULOUS" AND "NONSENSE", CHINESE CABINET SPOKESMAN ZHAO QIZHENG DISPARAGED THE CONGRESSIONAL REPORT MONDAY, CALLING IT A FARCE TO INSTIGATE ANTI-CHINA FEELINGS AND UNDERMINE SINO/U-S RELATIONS. HE SAYS BLUEPRINTS OF NUCLEAR WARHEADS AND OTHER U-S WEAPONS ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND CAN EVEN BE ACCESSED ON THE INTERNET.
• TIANANMEN ANNIV / CHINESE PROTESTS TODAY Voice of America 31 May 1999 -- TEN YEARS AFTER THE CHINESE ARMY CRACKDOWN ON THE 1989 TIANANMEN SQUARE DEMONSTRATIONS, MOST LEADERS OF THOSE PROTESTS ARE EITHER IN PRISON OR LIVING IN EXILE.
• U-S NUCLEAR SPYING Voice of America 30 May 1999 -- THE U-S ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS HE WILL SOON FIRE SOME EMPLOYEES IN THE WAKE OF ALLEGATIONS ABOUT CHINESE SPYING AT NUCLEAR WEAPONS LABS.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing MAY 28, 1999 -- We believe that China is not the Soviet Union. China has a billion people with a thriving market-based economy in many respects. That is very different from the Soviet Union. We believe the information flowing in and out of China is massively different than the Soviet Union. We believe that China has not had expansionist tendencies to the extent the Soviet Union did in supporting secessionist, guerrilla and terrorist organizations around the world.
• Errors in the Cox Report Chen Lan 28 May 1999 -- Following is the basic fact errors in Chapter 4 (PRC Missile and Space Forces), the Cox Report. These low level errors should have been avoided if they did the works a little more seriously.
• Errors in the Cox Report Mark Wade 28 May 1999 -- I was quite startled by the allegation, attributed to a 'classified briefing', that Tsien was working on the Titan I. I find it very hard to believe how such work could be linked specifically to the Titan I as opposed to Atlas, let alone the inference that the DF-5 is somehow a 'copy' of a Titan I.
• Pushed to a Wall by Lawmakers, Reno Defends Herself By DAVID JOHNSTON The New York Times 28 May 1999 -- In an unusual defense of her handling of a nuclear espionage case, Attorney General Janet Reno said that she was never fully informed of a dispute between the Justice Department and the FBI over a proposal to wiretap a scientist suspected of spying for China.
• Chinese Press in Full Attack on Cox Report The New York Times 28 May 1999 -- China's official press on Thursday attacked the credibility of the congressional report accusing China of extensive military espionage, asserting that "the specter of McCarthyism looms large in the Cox report."
• Energy Aide in Spying Case to Be Honored The New York Times 28 May 1999 -- Notra Trulock, the Energy Department intelligence official who first raised the alarm about China's theft of American nuclear secrets will receive a special award Friday from Energy Secretary Bill Richardson for persisting in his inquiry despite numerous bureaucratic roadblocks.
• On New Development of US Hegemonism Peoples Daily 27 May 1999 -- After the break-up of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the United States, being the only superpower in the world and relying on its mighty economic, technological and military strength, has been putting on airs and swaggering about and considering itself unexcelled in the world. Its ambition of seeking domination of the world has rapidly swelled. To guarantee its absolute superiority in the military area, the United States has published its national missile defense system (NMD) plan.
• Politics: Legislators Ask Pause in Relations With China The New York Times 27 May 1999 -- Members of Congress from both parties pressed Wednesday for a pause in relations with China and a reversal of years of liberalized high-technology sales to Beijing, arguing that evidence of Chinese espionage undercuts the Clinton Administration's policy of engagement.
• The Attorney General: If Lawmakers Call for Blood, They May End Up With Reno's The New York Times 27 May 1999 -- The internal security unit, staffed by the Government's most experienced espionage prosecutors, was barred from even knowing about such cases under a rule adopted after the prosecution of Aldrich H. Ames. That rule was designed to prevent the intermingling of intelligence with criminal evidence, so that any case the Justice Department ultimately brought would not be tainted by evidence collected solely for intelligence purposes. Under the rule, the F.B.I. cannot discuss counterintelligence cases with criminal prosecutors until investigators have enough evidence of their own to bring a case. In the Wen Ho Lee case, the rule meant that investigators and prosecutors did not consult each other.
• WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 9:29 A.M. EDT THURSDAY, MAY 27, 1999 -- To protect national security while guarding the liberty of its people, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 1979. This act is known as FISA, and it requires that before the government can wiretap or conduct an electronic surveillance of a United States citizen for intelligence purposes, it must obtain approval from a judge by presenting evidence sufficient to show probable cause to believe certain things. Those certain facts are that a particular U.S. person knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence-gathering activities on behalf of a foreign power, which may involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States. Congress required this specific showing for a very good reason; it wanted to protect the rights of U.S. citizens to be free from unreasonable searches, as guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. In the investigation of espionage at the Department of Energy laboratories, the department was asked whether surveillance or wiretaps could be authorized. Based on the facts reported to us in 1997, the department determined that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of probable cause
• CHINA / U-S RELATIONS Voice of America 27 May 1999 -- RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA HAVE SHARPLY DETERIORATED SINCE NATO'S MISTAKEN BOMBING OF THE CHINESE EMBASSY IN BELGRADE AND THE ALLEGATIONS FROM WASHINGTON ABOUT CHINESE SPYING.
• CHINA / U-S Voice of America 27 May 1999 -- CHINA HAS SHRUGGED OFF CALLS BY TOP U-S LEGISLATORS TO FREEZE NEGOTIATIONS ON BEIJING'S ENTRY INTO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION. CHINA SEEMS TO HAVE HARDENED ITS STANCE ON W-T-O MEMBERSHIP.
• Experts: Threat minimal, Espionage storm drowns out those who say the crisis is overblown by John Diamond Associated Press 27 May 1999 -- Steve Aftergood, of the Federation of American Scientists, said even if they were stolen, the codes - numerical representations of nuclear explosions - are of limited value.
• BYLINER: ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT ILLUSIONS (Sen. Max Baucus on U.S.-China relations, Cox Report) ( May 27, Washington Post) With the release of the Cox report, it is important that we not allow the passions of the moment to overwhelm our objectivity. We must analyze what has happened during the past 20 years, understand the report's conclusions and recommendations and determine what actions we need to take to ensure our national security and maximize our trade and economic interests with China.
• U-S - CHINA SPYING Voice of America 27 May 1999 -- NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE COMMENTING ABOUT THE FINDINGS OF A 700-PAGE REPORT FROM THE U-S CONGRESS ABOUT ALLEGATIONS THAT CHINA STOLE U-S NUCLEAR SECRETS.
• MORE ON U-S / CHINA SPYING Voice of America 27 May 1999 -- EDITORIAL WRITERS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE CONTINUING TO COMMENT ON THE RELEASE TUESDAY OF A CONGRESSIONAL REPORT ALLEGING CHINA HAS STOLEN U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECRETS.
• WELDON RELEASES NEW CHINA INFORMATION May 27, 1999 -- Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) today detailed an extensive network of Chinese front groups and influence-peddling in order to gain access to America's most sensitive technology. In addition, he laid out a series of Clinton-Gore Administration decisions that made it easier for China to acquire critical technology.
• What the Charts Show Representative Curt Weldon May 27, 1999 -- The two charts together reveal, among other things: A systematic, well planned effort by the Chinese military at the highest levels to target and acquire technology for military modernization. That the targeting effort and financing to acquire the technology and buy influence at the highest levels of US Government were planned and implemented by Chinese military Intelligence through the second department under the General Staff Department (GSD).
  • Liberalized / Decontrolled Technologies to Peoples’ Republic of China
  • The China Connection
  • Sources and References May 27, 1999
• Chronology of Chinese Weapons-Related Technology Transfers In Wake of Cox Report, Failure of Clinton-Gore Administration to Provide Adequate Controls on Technology, Weldon Offers Amendments to Strengthen Oversight Role of Department of Defense
• Weldon to Present New Details on China Tech Transfers RELEASE May 26, 1999 -- Press conference to provide new details on the links between the Clinton Administration's relaxation of export controls on sensitive U.S. technologies, PLA front companies, influence peddling, and campaign contributions.
• U.S.-CHINA: AFTERMATH OF EMBASSY BOMBING, COX REPORT FINDINGS USIA Foreign Media Reaction Report - 26 May 1999 -- The release of the 700-page report of the House Select Committee's probe into allegations that China has stolen U.S. nuclear secrets over a period of decades set off alarm bells on editorial pages overseas. Commentators from all regions judged that U.S.-China ties, already severely strained by NATO's mistaken bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade on May 7, would certainly suffer further damage in the aftermath of the report's publication.
• RENO / CHINA PROBE Voice of America 26 May 1999 -- ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO SAYS SHE HAS NO PLANS TO RESIGN IN THE WAKE OF CRITICISM OF HER HANDLING OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED CHINESE ESPIONAGE AT U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS RESEARCH LABORATORIES.
• TEXT: LETTER FROM LAWMAKERS TO CLINTON ON CHINA/WTO 26 May 1999 -- The Clinton Administration found its engagement policy toward the People's Republic of China under bipartisan assault in a letter from lawmakers to President Clinton May 26 calling for a "time-out" in China's bid to gain accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• Threat to U.S. is slight, experts say BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN San Jose Mercury News May 26, 1999 -- ``It is a remarkably leisurely modernization of their weapons systems,'' said John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists, ``and I cannot detect any acceleration of their efforts.''
• CHINA / U-S NUCLEAR SECRETS Voice of America 26 May 1999 -- MANY U-S NEWSPAPERS ARE COMMENTING ABOUT THE CONGRESSIONAL REPORT ACCUSING CHINA OF STEALING NUCLEAR DATA. PERHAPS THE MOST INTERESTING ASPECT OF THE REPORT IS ITS EFFECT ON AMERICAN POLICIES TOWARD CHINA.
• CONGRESS-CHINA Voice of America 26 May 1999 -- THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE, (NEW YORK) REPUBLICAN BENJAMIN GILMAN, SAYS A BILL TO TIGHTEN CONTROLS ON EXPORTS OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTERS IS A PRIORITY.
• CONGRESS-CHINA NUKE Voice of America 26 May 1999 -- CONTROVERSY CONTINUES IN WASHINGTON OVER THE ALLEGED CHINESE SPYING CAMPAIGN DESCRIBED BY A LENGTHY CONGRESSIONAL REPORT. THE SENATE IS CONSIDERING HOW TO STRENGTHEN SECURITY AND TIGHTEN CONTROLS OVER EXPORTS - AND THE ENTIRE DEBATE IS TAKING ON A MORE PARTISAN TONE.
• TIANANMEN ANNIV / HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Voice of America 26 May 1999 -- FOR NEARLY TWO MONTHS IN 1989, CHINESE STUDENTS AND WORKERS DEMONSTRATED IN BEIJING AND SEVERAL OTHER CITIES. THEY WERE DEMANDING MORE OPENNESS AND MORE DEMOCRACY IN CHINA. ON JUNE 4TH, CHINESE LEADERS SENT THE ARMY INTO BEIJING TO CLEAR AWAY THE PROTESTERS.
• Spying Charges Against Beijing Are Spelled Out by House Panel By JEFF GERTH AND JAMES RISEN The New York Times 26 May 1999 -- A long-awaited Congressional report that describes a pattern of systematic and successful Chinese espionage to learn American nuclear secrets was released, and President Clinton said he agreed that national security should be improved.
• President's Sober Response Assures Public of Security Measures By JOHN M. BRODER The New York Times 26 May 1999 -- The White House responded in a low-key and respectful manner to the release of the Cox Committee report on Chinese nuclear espionage, acknowledging that a serious security breach exists while assuring Congress and the public that the Administration is working hard to improve security.
• Questions: How Right Is Report? Caveats by Experts The New York Times 26 May 1999 -- Assessing which part of China's nuclear know-how came from espionage is like trying to unscramble an egg, intelligence officials say. "The report draws some conclusions in the public version that go beyond what you can conclude from the classified version," said Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat. "There is some language that is stronger than the facts" in the unclassified version, he said. The committee's ranking Democrat, Norm Dicks of Washington, said "the conclusions of the report have been written in a worst-case fashion."
• The Denial: China Labels Spying Claims 'Groundless' The New York Times 26 May 1999 -- Accusations that Chinese spies stole nuclear weapon designs and missile technology from the United States are "totally groundless," China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. "Their goal is to spread the theory of a 'China threat' and divert attention from the embassy bombing."
• Links: Fund-Raising Figure Had Spy Case Role The New York Times 26 May 1999 -- The Cox report says that Johnny Chung, a Chinese-American at the heart of the campaign finance controversy, was given $300,000 by two Chinese military officials in an apparent effort to establish one of them, the daughter of a Chinese general, in the United States so she could acquire American technology.
• Comments on Cox Report Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People's Republic of China 25 May 1999 -- China has developed a limited nuclear capability through self-reliance. The allegations about the so-called China's "theft" of nuclear weapons and missile secrets are sheer fabrications out of ulterior political motives.
• DoD News Briefing Tuesday, May 25, 1999 -- The distance between the U.S. and the Chinese is huge. We have a strategic nuclear arsenal of about, I think around 6,000 nuclear weapons at this stage. They have approximately 20 missiles that may be able to strike the United States, so there's a huge imbalance.
• REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT May 25, 1999 -- Like many other countries, China seeks to acquire our sensitive information and technology. We have a solemn obligation to protect such national security information and we have to do more to do it.
• WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TO COX REPORT May 25, 1999 -- The Clinton Administration agrees with the substance of nearly all the recommendations made in the report of the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with The People's Republic of China -- also called the Cox Report.
• WHITE HOUSE ON CHINA SPY REPORT May 25, 1999 -- The Clinton Administration and the House Select Committee on Intelligence share the common objective of ensuring that U.S. national secrets are protected and that civilian technology is not diverted for military purposes, the White House said in a May 25 statement.
• Cox report conclusions questionable Cato Institute News Memo 25 May 1999 -- Conservative Republicans-looking for a new enemy to fight after the Cold War ended-have hyped the questionable assertion that this is the most egregious case of espionage in U.S. history. Yet the effects on U.S. security may be overblown.
• CONGRESS-CHINA Voice of America 25 May 1999 -- MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WILL GET A CHANCE WEDNESDAY TO QUESTION THE TWO MEN WHO LED THE HOUSE INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF CHINESE ESPIONAGE AT AMERICAN NUCLEAR-WEAPONS LABORATORIES.
• CLINTON / CHINA ESPIONAGE Voice of America 25 May 1999 -- PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS HE WILL NOT ABANDON HIS POLICY OF ENGAGEMENT WITH BEIJING, DESPITE THE RELEASE OF A HOUSE (SELECT) COMMITTEE REPORT ALLEGING A MASSIVE CHINESE EFFORT TO ACQUIRE SENSITIVE U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS INFORMATION.
• CHINA / U-S / SPYING Voice of America 25 May 1999 -- CHINA HAS REJECTED, AS UNFOUNDED, A U-S CONGRESSIONAL REPORT THAT SAYS BEIJING STOLE U-S NUCLEAR SECRETS. CHINA SAYS THE REPORT BY A SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IS AIMED AT STIRRING UP ANTI-CHINESE FEELINGS AMONG AMERICANS.
• CHINA SPYING / IMPACT Voice of America 25 May 1999 -- ASIDE FROM THE DEFENSE IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL REPORT ON CHINESE NUCLEAR SPYING, THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON SINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS.
• CHINA SECURITY IMPACT Voice of America 25 May 1999 -- TOP PENTAGON OFFICIALS SAY THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL REPORT ALLEGING CHINESE SPIES STOLE U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECRETS IS VERY DISTURBING. BUT THE OFFICIALS SAY THAT INFORMATION HAS NOT YET BROUGHT MAJOR CHANGES IN THE NUMBER, ACCURACY OR POWER OF THE WARHEADS CHINA COULD FIRE AT THE UNITED STATES.
• CHINA / CAPITOL HILL Voice of America 25 May 1999 -- A NEW CONGRESSIONAL REPORT SAYS CHINA STOLE SECRET INFORMATION ABOUT AMERICA'S MOST SOPHISTICATED NUCLEAR WEAPONS. NORMAN DICKS PARTS WAYS WITH CHAIRMAN COX ON THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE DONE TO U-S NATIONAL SECURITY.
• Nuclear Thriller With Ending as Yet Unwritten By TIM WEINER The New York Times 25 May 1999 -- The Congressional report on Chinese espionage is about to be issued. Some officials at the Energy Department are challenging the findings that China stole nuclear weapons data and that the espionage is continuing at Government laboratories.
• TEXT: HOUSE RESOLUTION ON TIANANMEN 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY 25 May 1999 -- The U.S. House of Representatives on May 25 voted 418-0 for a resolution condemning ongoing human rights abuses in China, and called on the People's Republic of China (PRC) to launch an investigation into governmental abuses related to the killing of peaceful Chinese demonstrators in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
• TEXT: ENERGY SECRETARY RICHARDSON REMARKS ON COX REPORT 25 May 1999 -- The recent House Select Committee report on China's efforts to acquire sensitive U.S. technology, also known as the Cox Report, underscores the importance of the aggressive actions the Department of Energy has taken to strengthen counterintelligence and security at national laboratories, according to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson.
• RENO UNDER FIRE Voice of America 24 May 1999 -- CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS ARE CALLING ON U-S ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO TO RESIGN IN THE WAKE OF WHAT THEY REGARD AS A BOTCHED INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED CHINESE ESPIONAGE AT U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS RESEARCH LABORATORIES.
• CONGRESS / CHINA / NUCLEAR Voice of America 24 May 1999 -- A U-S CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IS ABOUT TO UNVEIL A REPORT ON ALLEGED CHINESE SPYING AT AMERICA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS LABS AND ELSEWHERE. THOUGH MUCH OF THE INFORMATION IS ALREADY KNOWN, THE RELEASE IS LIKELY TO BRING MORE POLITICAL PROBLEMS FOR THE WHITE HOUSE.
• U-S / CHINA ESPIONAGE Voice of America 24 May 1999 -- PRESIDENT CLINTON CONTINUES TO SUPPORT ATTORNEY GENERAL, JANET RENO, DESPITE CONGRESSIONAL CALLS FOR HER RESIGNATION OVER THE HANDLING OF A CHINESE NUCLEAR ESPIONAGE PROBE.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing MAY 24, 1999 -- We have never had any illusions about the fact that China would like to get its hands on our military technologies, and that's why we have worked so hard to put in place very careful controls over military technology. And at the appropriate time after these briefings occurred, the President signed a directive to invigorate and clamp down on potential security breaches at the labs.
• STATEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO ON THE LOS ALAMOS LABORATORY MATTER MONDAY, MAY 24, 1999 -- I have the awesome responsibility to determine whether to authorize government intrusion into the lives of American citizens. But the Justice Department has not -- nor will it -- authorize such intrusions when, as in this case, the standards of the Constitution and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) have not been met.
• White House Briefing May 24, 1999 -- I think finger-pointing is a popular spectator sport and participative sport here in Washington. The bottom line on this is, this is a bipartisan problem that needs a bipartisan solution. It goes back over 20 years; it doesn't have a Democratic or a Republican name on it. And the solution needs to be bipartisan. The White House acknowledges security problems at the laboratories that go back over a couple of decades. I think once this was brought to the attention of the White House, and then to the attention of the President, that the White House moved quickly. The Attorney General is doing an internal review within the department, to look at how this was handled, to see if there was anything that was problematic with how it was handled. I think we're under no illusions that one of the byproducts of being a technological leader in the world is that other people, other countries who don't have the technological prowess that we do, will try to acquire them by one way or another.
• U-S / CHINA SPYING Voice of America 23 May 1999 -- THE U-S CONGRESS IS PREPARING TO RELEASE A DECLASSIFIED REPORT ON ALLEGATIONS THAT CHINA STOLE U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECRETS. CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND U-S LAWMAKERS SAID SUNDAY THAT THE POTENTIAL DAMAGE FROM THE ALLEGED ESPIONAGE IS SIGNIFICANT.
• Tracking the Suspicions of China's Nuclear Spying By JEFF GERTH AND TIM WEINER The New York Times 23 May 1999 -- The congressional investigation into China's suspected theft of American technology quietly began a year ago. Today it has become the decade's deepest look into a realm of cloaks and daggers that lives on after the Cold War.
• White House Briefing May 21, 1999 -- As far as any particular espionage at the labs, the President had a general briefing, but not anything specific to each of the allegations, and at the time was not briefed on any specific allegations. We've got a situation where we have allegations. There is an ongoing investigation at the Justice Department. I'm not going to get into the details of that.
• China Stole Data, Report Concludes By JEFF GERTH The New York Times 21 May 1999 -- A House committee has unanimously concluded that China systematically stole significant American nuclear design secrets, enabling Beijing to accelerate its weapons program so that it now information on a par with the United States.
• TRANSCRIPT: 5/20 DAS SUSAN SHIRK WORLDNET ON U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS -- The United States has acknowledged its responsibility for the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and is determined not to let it deflect the administration from its course of working together with China to build toward a constructive strategic partnership, according to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Shirk.
• CONGRESS/CHINA REPORT Voice of America 20 May 1999 -- THE TOP REPUBLICAN IN THE U-S SENATE IS CALLING ON THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION TO STOP DELAYING RELEASE OF A CONGRESSIONAL REPORT DETAILING ALLEGATIONS OF CHINESE ESPIONAGE AT U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS RESEARCH LABORATORIES.
• CHINA / U-S Voice of America 20 May 1999 -- CHINA IS LASHING OUT AT AMERICAN ALLEGATIONS BEIJING STOLE U-S NUCLEAR SECRETS AND MADE ILLEGAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO U-S POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAYS THE U-S ACCUSATIONS HAVE BEEN INTENSIFIED TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM THE NATO BOMBING OF THE CHINESE EMBASSY IN BELGRADE.
• CONGRESS-CHINA REPORT Voice of America 19 May 1999 -- A SPECIAL U-S CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IS CLOSE TO RELEASING ITS LONG-AWAITED REPORT ON ALLEGED CHINESE SPYING AND BEIJING'S ACQUISITION OF AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY.
• ESTRADA / SPRATLYS Voice of America18 May 1999 -- PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT JOSEPH ESTRADA SAYS HOW THE DISPUTE OVER THE SPRATLY ISLANDS BETWEEN HIS GOVERNMENT AND CHINA IS RESOLVED, WILL SET THE COURSE FOR DEALINGS BETWEEN LARGE POWERS AND THEIR SMALLER NEIGHBORS IN ASIA.
• CONGRESS/CHINA Voice of America 18 May 1999 -- A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF U-S LAWMAKERS IS PREPARING TO MARK THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN ON PRO-DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATORS IN BEIJING'S TIANANMEN SQUARE.
• U-S - CHINA / ESPIONAGE Voice of America 15 May 1999 -- U-S LAWMAKERS ARE PREPARING TO RELEASE A REPORT CONCLUDING THAT CHINA HAS STOLEN U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY, BUT THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES, LI ZHAOXING, IS DENYING HIS COUNTRY WAS EVER INVOLVED IN SUCH ESPIONAGE.
• DoD News Briefing Friday, May 14, 1999 -- It is not a new story that China did in the late '70s or early '80s acquire some information about the so-called W-70 warhead known more popularly as the "neutron bomb." The neutron bomb or the W-70 warhead, which we no longer use and in fact never used, is a tactical weapon, not a strategic weapon. It has very peculiar properties. It's not the type of weapon that any normal force would use in a strategic context.
• U-S CHINA NUKE Voice of America 12 May 1999 -- THE HEAD OF THE U-S ENERGY DEPARTMENT IS ASKING CONGRESS NOT TO SHUT OFF CONTACTS WITH FOREIGN SCIENTISTS, IN THE WAKE OF THE SPY CASE AT A NUCLEAR WEAPONS LAB.
• Chinese Had Details Of U.S. Nuclear Missiles Los Angeles Times 11 May 1999 -- CIA obtained Beijing file describing warheads. But officials say information is not enough to build one.
• Reports Show Scientist Gave U.S. Radar Secrets to China By JEFF GERTH and JAMES RISEN The New York Times 10 May 1999 -- A scientist working on a classified Pentagon project in 1997 provided China with secrets about advanced radar technology being developed to track submarines, according to court records and government documents. The information about the radar technology, which is considered promising and has been in development for two decades, was divulged to Chinese nuclear-weapons experts during a two-hour lecture in Beijing in May 1997 by Peter Lee, an American scientist, court records show.
• Lawyer Issues Denial for Los Alamos Scientist Suspected of Spying for Beijing The New York Times (May 8)
• Statement by Suspect's Lawyer: He Assisted FBI The New York Times (May 8)
• The Data Trail, and the FBI's Route to Suspicion The New York Times (May 8)
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing , MAY 7, 1999 -- There is no evidence that these unauthorized technology transfers have in fact been incorporated into China's currently deployed ICBM force, which was developed and deployed long before US satellites were approved for export to China.
• Administration Response to Report on China Satellite Launch The White House May 7, 1999 -- This Administration, like previous Administrations, has not authorized the transfer of any technology to assist China's ballistic missile program. However, we share the Committee's concern that unauthorized assistance and transfers of technology relevant to space launch vehicles and ballistic missiles may have occurred during certain space launch failure analyses.
• CONGRESS-CHINA SATELLITES Voice of America 07 May 1999 -- A CONGRESSIONAL PANEL SAYS AMERICAN SATELLITE FIRMS INADVERTENTLY HELPED CHINA'S MISSILE PROGRAM. THE SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE SAYS THE RISK TO U-S NATIONAL SECURITY IS REAL, AND THERE IS PLENTY OF BLAME TO GO AROUND -- FROM WASHINGTON TO BEIJING TO THE BOARDROOMS OF CORPORATE AMERICA.
• U-S / CHINA ESPIONAGE Voice of America 06 May 1999 -- U-S ATTORNEY-GENERAL JANET RENO IS LAUNCHING AN INTERNAL PROBE TO SEE IF FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS MISHANDLED ALLEGATIONS OF CHINESE ESPIONAGE AT U-S NUCLEAR WEAPONS LABORATORIES.
• Lab Directors Tell Congress Atom Secrets Lack Controls The New York Times (May 6)
• China Spy Plot: Less Than What Meets the Eye New York Daily News Wednesday, May 05, 1999 -- Ironically, the real threat to U.S. national security will come if, in an excess of zeal, the U.S. government reinstitutes the draconian security precautions that cloaked Los Alamos during the Cold War. "First-rate scientists don't want to work in a prison," says John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists. "In the early days, there was some glamor to the job that made up for the restrictions, but now there's more fame and glory in other work."
• 1998 Report Told of Lab Breaches and China Threat By JEFF GERTH AND JAMES RISEN New York Times 02 May 1999 -- A secret report to top Clinton administration officials last November warned that China posed an "acute intelligence threat" to the government's nuclear weapons laboratories and that computer systems at the labs were being constantly penetrated by outsiders. The report also includes detailed information about a number of incidents in which China could have obtained sensitive weapons information, as well as some of the ways the espionage could have taken place.
• The Data Trail, and the FBI's Route to Suspicion New York Times 02 May 1999 -- In 1983, Lee transfers nuclear bomb data from a classified computer system at Los Alamos to an unclassified network open to outsiders. In 1995, Lee makes the last of the known unauthorized transfers of classified computer files.

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