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Officer of China’s People’s Liberation Army Arrested at LAX
- voodoochilo 6y agoHow is this HN relevant?
- dkdk8283 6y ago> Also according to court documents, Wang provided information to CBP that he had been instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China. China’s intellectual property theft is really getting out of hand. It’s about we take a stand in one way or another.
- bfieidhbrjr 6y agoMaybe. On the other hand, if they think that they'll catch up by replicating things in the united states down to the layout of research labs... then that's kind of hilarious and they've really missed the point. It's like the Soviets copying the space shuttle and concorde. They're copying the wrong things, too late.
- DevKoala 6y ago> Wang similarly told his supervising UCSF professor that he had duplicated some of the work of that professor at the lab in China. Some of the work of the UCSF lab was funded by grants from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH). Wang also wiped his personal phone of WeChat messaging content earlier the morning he arrived at LAX. They are being thorough.
- bfieidhbrjr 6y agoEveryone has OpSec. And then he told them everything during an interview. Or maybe it's all lies to hide something else. Who knows.
- a012 6y agoHe's a "Level 9" PLA officer (apx. Major officer), if he spilled that out easily to CBP, definitely there's something more suspicious than just copy-cat labs design.
- baybal2 6y agoLevel 9 technician is just a civilian employee, not an officer, let alone major.
- rdtsc 6y agoThe official name for that is I believe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_hangout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_hangout But something doesn't add up to him just confessing that quickly all that information
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- __s 6y agoFinally some effort to address the replication crisis
- boomboomsubban 6y agoIt doesn't say when the professors work was duplicated, it may have been a published experiment he duplicated at his university job. I imagine most US university medical labs have grant funding from those organizations, they don't even suggest Wang was involved with that research. And wiping your phone before international travel, particular to China, is just smart. That doesn't imply wrongdoing.
- m4rtink 6y agoWell, with TU 144 and Buran, the copying situation is rather interesting - both were substantially different that the Concorde and Space Shuttle. But the main copy aspect was that the politburo saw a cool thing and told the engineeres - we want THAT - NOW, get going on it or else.
- mhh__ 6y ago> politburo saw a cool thing and told the engineeres There was industrial espionage too. Considering they had the former and political backing, it's surprising how much of a disaster the 144 was - Not least because it was built for a market that didn't exist (comrade) in the Soviet Union, it was a noisy deathtrap. Their western equivalents flew somewhere on the order of a thousand times further (Concordski only did about 100 commercial flights)
- barry-cotter 6y ago> Well, with TU 144 and Buran, the copying situation is rather interesting - both were substantially different that the Concorde and Space Shuttle. This is super common with industrial espionage. As a reductio ad absurdum after 1991 I believe the Russians sold working fighter jets with detailed blue prints and instructions on how to manufacture all the components to the Converse Chinese. They still failed to make a perfect copy. Same deal for whatever the Soviet copy of the B-52 was. Building a sophisticated piece of machinery when your supply chain is very different you have to make compromises and different choices and they all add up.
- inamberclad 6y agoNot only that, but the Soviets realized that the STS (Space Transportation System) wasn't going to live up to its promises for flight rate and cost, and thought something else must be afoot.
- m4rtink 6y agoIIRC the main thing Soviets feared was surprise strike on Moscow by nukes launched from a space shuttle. This sounds rather absurd given that preparing a space shuttle for launch takes literally months. But the idea was, as far as I can tell, that it would launch on a regular mission, then use its heat shield and aerodynamic surfaces to change orbit inclination radically while out of reach of soviet radar, resulting in totally unexpected direct overflight of Moscow, making a decapitating strike possible.
- bamboozled 6y agoThey made a space shuttle though, and it was pretty capable. It could even fly autonomously.
- perl4ever 6y agoThat's misleading, and anyone who cares presumably knows.
- igivanov 6y ago>It's like the Soviets copying the space shuttle and concorde. they didn't though, please try again.
- perl4ever 6y agoThe resemblance is obvious, whether or not it's a "copy" by some standard. It just occurred to me to check out the Mig-29 on Wikipedia, and it has an uncanny resemblance to the F-15.
- sm_4096 6y agoIt might be an optimum design for a glider, e.g., here is a design for India's Space Shuttle https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/c_fill,g_auto,w_1200,h_675,ar_16:9/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F160523134043-india-space-shuttle-test-1.jpg https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/c_fill,g_auto,w_1200,h_675...
- igivanov 6y agoyou know, in the age of google it's quite easy check that your assumptions are completely wrong https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a9763/did-the-soviets-actually-build-a-better-space-shuttle-16176311/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a9763/did-the... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-144#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-144#Development >uncanny resemblance duh...
- perl4ever 6y agoMaybe you misread something? If I think something obviously looks like something else, that's not something you can disprove with a citation. There's no assumption involved.
- deepnotderp 6y agoBoth the Mig-29 and Su-27 are based on the same aerodynamics research. That they look similar to the F-15 is probably more due to the fact that they were all designed to be air superiority fighters than any espionage.
- drocer88 6y agoSoviets also copied the B-29 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-4 "... the type entered large-scale service in 1949. Entry into service of the Tu-4 threw the USAF into a panic, since the Tu-4 possessed sufficient range to attack Chicago or Los Angeles on a one-way mission ... and early Intel microchips: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KR580VM80A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KR580VM80A , which included military versions.
- sudosysgen 6y agoTheir "space shuttle" was not a copy and was also far superior to the Western one in design.
- Retric 6y agoIt was different which means their was some arguable advantages, but it was less reusable and even more expensive to operate. They effectively copped the worst aspects of the shuttle and then made a lot of sacrifices to get it to fly. Which is why it only had a single unmanned flight.
- discordance 6y agoPretty sure the Buran only had one flight because of timing with the fall of the USSR. Here’s a good summary of its life: https://youtu.be/XLOCQw5s9Uw https://youtu.be/XLOCQw5s9Uw
- perl4ever 6y agoWell, if it wasn't a response to the shuttle, the timing would have been different, earlier, wouldn't it?
- Retric 6y agoIt’s possible the USSR would have had more flights for propaganda reasons, but in a direct comparison the Souyuz was simply the better design. So it was the Soyuz program that continued after the USSR’s fall.
- sudosysgen 6y agoIf the US had the space shuttle, the Soyuz, and common sense, they would also drop the space shuttle and fly the Soyuz. But apparently the US had neither the Soyuz nor common sense. The Buran only existed in order to send a message. And it was also technically better designed than the space shuttle.
- dkdk8283 6y agoIt could be they’re duplicating the physical layout of the lab to make stolen documents easier to understand.
- baybal2 6y ago> then that's kind of hilarious and they've really missed the point. Not quite, a layout, and process organisation of some high end labs are quite important, especially if you deal with some hazardous materials, and want to design protocols to avoid contamination/theft. If he is a bacteriologist, then, moreover given what's in the news these days
- qppo 6y agoIf you've ever heard a counterfeiting story from a chipmaker this is unsurprising. They'll copy anything and everything just to be sure.
- sslayer 6y agoForgotten weapons has a great video on early 20th century counterfeit Chinese weapons that is relatable - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HNaB7l2GQk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HNaB7l2GQk
- solotronics 6y agoI saw a Chinese copy of a Nazi pistol (mauser broomhandle) and at distance it is a 1-1 copy but on closer inspection you realize instead of being machined every single part was filed by hand by someone. It must have taken an incredible amount of time to make a pistol that way. Also they tried to copy the stamped lettering but most of it is jibberish. Very interesting.
- sudosysgen 6y agoPeople in the Philippines also still make pistols by hand filing. It's quite incredible.
- rmrfstar 6y agoThis is bad read on the history of innovation. I offer two counter-examples, though there are many more: (1) Japanese semiconductor industry, for which there is an excellent NHK documentary [1]. (2) After WW2, the British invited Soviet engineers to tour jet engine factories as a token of good faith. The engineers documented the factory layout, and wore adhesive on their shoes to gather metal filings for later analysis. A few years later, Mig-15's were shooting American planes out of the sky over Korea. A similar example: the British transferred huge bodies of knowledge to US aircraft engine manufacturers during WW2. This laid the foundation for the industry's future success. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkRwArnc1k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkRwArnc1k
- lightgreen 6y ago(2) According to Mig-15 wp page, UK gave USSR an engine with blueprints. The part in your story about adhesive shoes sounds like an urban legend, unimportant detail at most.
- redis_mlc 6y agoNo, I've heard about that in a few different aircraft programs, so it's likely real.
- techer 6y agoNot the origin of gumshoe
- s1artibartfast 6y agoAerospace metallurgy is some of the most secretive aspects of development. Metal filings could literally have been more valuable than the blueprints. This is still a very competitive space a challenge for reverse engineering. Even with samples and atomic analyses, it is not always possible possible to reproduce without the proper method. Here is a related link. https://www.inkstonenews.com/tech/chinese-spy-accused-trying-steal-us-trade-secrets/article/2168111 https://www.inkstonenews.com/tech/chinese-spy-accused-trying...
- deepnotderp 6y agoBuran is a bad example, as it was very different from the space shuttle and likely superior
- mc32 6y agoI've hard second had that Russian TV (in Russian obvs) has had numerous virologists and people who know about virus labs in China that they'd be unsurprised if their protocol allowed accidental release. Apparently they also postulate CN labs are "playing" with much more virulent organisms --fortunately, so far, they've handled them well... On the other hand, TV is all about speculative bombshells... So, not sure about the above speculation, as it's Russians saying things about Chinese labs of which they may or may not have good data... but makes you think The biggest point they make is that their protocols leave a lot to be desired and two they are working on even worse viruses... maybe fear-mongering or getting eyeballs...
- FuckButtons 6y ago...Its strange how 'thinking'is often synonymous with believing wildly implausible conspiracy theories on the basis of no evidence. Researchers have found hundreds of SARS like corona-viruses in horseshoe bats in southern china. This pandemic was predicted by many subject matter experts as a likely scenario and their research was oriented to try and prevent their worst case scenario from occurring. Because of the sheer number of potentially dangerous bat viruses, they are still concerned that we haven't even encountered the worst case virus, maybe there is something equally as hard to detect but more deadly out there. There is no need for an accidental release to occur. Zoonaotic viruses cross the species barrier and cause pandemics, that's literally the only way they happen, and it's always because of close contact between animals and humans, it's not some big mystery, eating bats in southern china was, and is incredibly dangerous.
- eindiran 6y agoThat's correct: researchers have found a lot of similar coronaviruses in southern China. > “I wondered if [the municipal health authority] got it wrong,” she says. “I had never expected this kind of thing to happen in Wuhan, in central China.” Her studies had shown that the southern, subtropical provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan have the greatest risk of coronaviruses jumping to humans from animals—particularly bats, a known reservoir. If coronaviruses were the culprit, she remembers thinking, “Could they have come from our lab?” [0] Given that a leading virologist who specifically studies bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology considers this a possibility, I think it's safe to say that it's not some wild conspiracy theory. I obviously don't know what happened, and it seems very plausible that the virus came from standard zoonotic transfer, but it's a bit unfair to characterize this as a conspiracy theory. [EDIT] The article was actually changed since I read it: "She is distressed because stories from the Internet and major media have repeated a tenuous suggestion that SARS-CoV-2 accidentally leaked from her lab—despite the fact that its genetic sequence does not match any her lab had previously studied." So it sounds like she came to the conclusion that it wasn't an accidental release in April. [0] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-chinas-bat-woman-hunted-down-viruses-from-sars-to-the-new-coronavirus1/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-chinas-bat-wo...
- woah 6y agoThe layout of the lab? That seems like something that could be public
- inetknght 6y agoReally? Care to tell everyone the layout of your home? How many feet in your room is your bed? How much storage do you have in your dresser? If someone wanted in and out as quick as possible, what's the best route? Labs have sensitive areas too. Knowing the layout of them helps not just in-and-out operations but can also guide other kinds of educated guesses. Do lab staff in their offices have direct views of the lab equipment or are they separate? etc
- true_religion 6y agoThe analogy is a bit silly. The layout of my home is on file at the county records office, and accessible online. The real issue at hand is that he is suspected of something worse than merely copying a lab layout. Is a laboratory setup even protected? In many cases an experiment will elude replication because the lab setup was not properly documented.
- nomel 6y agoThinking that the quality of science is related to the layout of a lab is like thinking the creativity and beautiful of a piece of art is related to the location and color of the bin the artist stores their tools in.
- AtHeartEngineer 6y agoThat information may be used to assist in the theft of research down the line by someone else. Someone else could know exactly where someone's office is and what to grab out of there. Or what labs to try to get jobs/internships/etc in to be closer to a lab they want access to that they likely wouldn't get a job in.
- scollet 6y ago
- closeparen 6y agoSuppose there's a tool you really like at work. Issue tracker, build system, version control, whatever. At your next job it's missing. You influence the decision about how to fill the gap based on your experience. Have you stolen intellectual property? People are pretty open about "I'm planning to work at Google for a year so I can learn how they do things and then take that with me to my startup."
- vulcan01 6y agoI think there's a difference between individuals committing intellectual property theft, and organised state-sponsored intellectual property theft.
- sudosysgen 6y agoI mean, kinda. In any case, state sponsored intellectual property theft is par for the course, and any state would do it in the situation where China is now, and indeed every state so far did it. So I don't really think it's morally wrong, we got where we are from state-sponsored intellectual property theft and they will get to where they will go from that too. Ultimately, there is no real morality when it comes to the actions of state actors beyond "will it improve my citizen's life?". This most certainly will, so for a Chinese official it seems moral to them.
- perl4ever 6y agoA person can, in principle, hold the opinion that copying IP is not inherently immoral, but that ancillary crimes may be. I mean, if you think it's ok to do something, does that mean anything you do in pursuit of it is ok?
- sudosysgen 6y agoWhat anciliary crime did they commit except copying IP? Lying on a visa application? It's very difficult to argue that this would be a grave moral crime.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- ct520 6y agoWhat’s interesting is watching video game streaming in China. When playing games a few times then poking around a little more. I was extremly shocked at how mainstream cheating and stealing is embedded in... ugh I dunno for lack of better words, their current culture? When and how did this become a thing? Let me clarify I’m pretty naïve on anything China. And not trying to say everyone over there lacks integrity (thought the opposite) but seems like lack of integrity was like trendy from what I could tell?
- Natsu 6y agoI see the same thing in Chinese webnovels. The victims of any scam get blamed for falling for it and the scammer is considered the intelligent one, though sometimes only until they themselves get scammed in turn. Basically, honesty isn't seen as a virtue, instead there's a sort of tit-for-tat mentality of returning evil for evil and good for good.
- chii 6y agoi highly suspect this is due to the massive population and the intense competition to survive and rise thru the ranks under such an environment.
- smabie 6y agoI don't know when it became a thing, but it's a well known fact in all gaming communities that the Chinese are responsible for the vast majority of cheaters. If you region-lock the game, cheating becomes a much smaller problem. Maybe a person who has lived in China or is Chinese could shed more light on why they want to cheat in the first place?
- lightgreen 6y ago> extremly shocked I’m a little disappointed how words loose meaning over time. People are extremely shocked watching video games. And there are no words to express their feelings when, for example, their dog hit by a car? Because barely anything can be more shocking than extremely shocking.
- unown 6y ago
- duxup 6y agoThere seems to be no real consequences for it...so they keep at it.
- throwaway888abc 6y agoNo spy plot. No popcorn. Defendant Charged with Visa Fraud Wang is charged with visa fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. According to court documents, Wang was still employed by the PLA while he was studying in the United States and he made false statements about his military service in his visa application in order to increase the likelihood that he would receive his J1 visa.
- jonas21 6y agoWell... we don't really know yet. They're likely charging him with visa fraud initially because it's the only thing they can prove right now, and they needed to charge him with something or he would be free to leave the country.
- Jonanin 6y agoExcuse me? This is not an accurate summary of the article at all. It's in fact exactly a spy plot: Wang was "instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China".
- HarryHirsch 6y agoobserve the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China That's the purpose of a J-1 visa, isn't it? The fellow was on a scientific exchange program. It's all very mystifying what the administration is trying to signal.
- hailwren 6y agoThis argument was specifically addressed in the source. 'According to court documents, Wang was still employed by the PLA while he was studying in the United States and he made false statements about his military service in his visa application in order to increase the likelihood that he would receive his J1 visa.' The allegation is that he would not have been on a scientific exchange program had it been clear that it was a scientific exchange with the PLA.
- ransom1538 6y ago"Wang is charged with visa fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000." The US has ludicrous prison sentences. Lie on an application = 10 years in prison. That is insane. Good luck getting out alive as a 5'5" 130 lbs guy in a federal prison covered in covid19 for 10 years. Federal prison doesn't have good time - so bring some good books. Instead could we just charge this guy, make him pay huge fines, make him teach classes, make him explain what really happened and move on? Instead! I bet a senator out there is trying to pass a law making it 40 years.
- marcinzm 6y ago>make him explain what really happened According to the court documents, what really happened was that he was trying to steal intellectual property for China. These long sentences exist because state actors would otherwise just keep sending people until one succeeded with no downside.
- ransom1538 6y ago? Not following. They just caught a guy doing it with harsh sentences. China already has no downsides. Having this person work with us OUT of prison would hurt China much more.
- gpm 6y agoHaving spies go to prison for long periods of time tend to decrease the incentives of other people to become spies. Unlike most criminals, spies are probably moderately rational about risk/reward, as such this is probably actually an effective deterrent. /end unsupported opinion.
- strbean 6y agoWhat are the odds anyone in their applicant pool hears about this?
- 6y ago
- olalonde 6y ago> Wang is charged with visa fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. So lying on a visa application is worse than immigrating illegally? Doesn't illegal immigration just get you deported?
- aspenmayer 6y agoGaming the system or otherwise exploiting it is more malicious than circumventing it. It’s the old school version of laws like CFAA, which make explicitly super-illegal things which are already implicitly or explicitly illegal, with sometimes unforeseen consequences.
- lurquer 6y agoBetter to apologize than ask permission, as the saying goes... The principle st play is everywhere in the legal system: the penalty for lying on a tax return is much higher than not filing returns; the penalty for buying something with counterfeit bills is much higher than that for simply stealing it; using a fake ID to buy booze (if under 21) carries a higher penalty than buying it from a clerk who forgets to card you; lying to sn FBI agent in an investigation is infinitely worse than saying nothing; etc., etc.
- nelaboras 6y agoIf you can't prove the other stuff (easily) you have to have a means to get them on a formality. That's why there's so many questions on the immigration form.
- koheripbal 6y ago"maximum statutory penalties" are not indicative of "worseness" of a crime. They are usually placed very high to give judges flexibility, and are somewhat arbitrary, but they don't represent the average/median sentence handed down. Also, there is no single "illegal immigrant" law or sentence, but I'm certain there are some laws violated by illegal immigrants that carry the same meaningless unused "maximum statutory penalty". It is a common news media blunder of quoting the "maximum statutory penalty" - which is almost always irrelevant. Having said that, in this case, if it's a political/espionage arrest then they might in fact use it either in negotiations with the Chinese or in sentencing to pressure for more cooperation.
- nine_zeros 6y agoThis may be a tangent. Can the US govt be charged for typos and mistakes in legal documents or for delays? I have never seen such attrocious imbalance of power. No wonder foreigners are wary of coming to the US
- gpm 6y agoWith nearly every criminal law, I assume including this one (but I didn't check), there is an element of "mens rea" or in plain English your only guilty if you intended to commit the crime. A typo would not qualify.
- nine_zeros 6y agoI would recommend you check. US laws are really f-ed up in many ways.
- aspenmayer 6y agoA contract is interpreted against its drafter.[1] I don’t know if or how this legal doctrine applies to sovereign governments, however. The government and its representatives are immune to certain kinds of legal interference, which this kind of legalistic spelling dispute may be be considered to be. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_proferentem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_proferentem
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoIt’s true, some of us are. There’s no way I’d step foot in US territory. I’d sooner visit China or Russia, to be honest. I know I’m not alone.
- ryanhuff 6y agoIs it really surprising? China has been wholesale ripping off American (and other) companies and government for years. Do you expect the government to blindly let this theft continue without a serious response?
- nine_zeros 6y ago
- readhn 6y ago>In reality, when interviewed by officers of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at LAX on June 7, 2020, Wang provided information that he was, in fact, still currently a “Level 9” technician in the PLA, employed by a military university lab. Are you seriously telling me that the guy who is supposedly sent to "spy" in the US - just tells them at the border , oh hey, no i actually i lied - i work for Chinese military. I dont buy this - there is more to the story. I mean, do they waterboard foreigners at LAX? Something does not add up here.
- shkkmo 6y agoThe application was over a year and a half ago. Wang may simply have forgotten what lies he told on the application. It also seems to be implied that not all the information that contradicted the visa application came from an interview. Specifically it is implied that CPB knew he was being paid by organizations in China via another source.
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoWang may not be the one who told the lies. "Here, sign this paper that we filled out for you." "OK."
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoDefection gone wrong?
- unishark 6y ago> I mean, do they waterboard foreigners at LAX? Well not just foreigners, but they do subject travelers to a variety of forms of psychological torture there, including sleep deprivation. Like when your plane is out on the tarmac and they keep telling you "it should be just a few more minutes" ...for hours. Then the flight is cancelled.
- godelski 6y agoI can't tell if these comments are just people not reading the article or a gross characterization. Can we get @dang in here? All that is being discussed is the MAXIMUM penalty as if it is the standard. In HN we're supposed to respond to the article accurately. So here's some quotes. >> Wang provided information that he was, in fact, still currently a “Level 9” technician in the PLA, employed by a military university lab. CBP officers also obtained information that this roughly corresponded with the level of Major, and that Wang had received compensation from the PLA and the China Scholarship Council—in addition to compensation from UCSF—while in the United States. >> Also according to court documents, Wang provided information to CBP that he had been instructed by his supervisor, the director of his military university lab in the PRC, to observe the layout of the UCSF lab and bring back information on how to replicate it in China. >> Wang also wiped his personal phone of WeChat messaging content earlier the morning he arrived at LAX. TLDR: Wang was a major in the Chinese Army, being paid by them while going to UCSF and was sending information back to China.
- vaxman 6y agoHe was caught at LAX but this is typical Silicon Valley BS.
- stevespang 6y agoJust wait 24 hours. the PLA will kidnap at least 3 US citizens and send them to hellhole prisons - - just like they did against Canadians when the daughter of billionaire Huawei founder Ren Zheng was arrested. Anybody want to bet against me ?
- miramardesign 6y agoThis is what happens when we let globalist cucks run our institutions. There is no such thing as treason when the loyalty is utopia.
- dirtyid 6y agoThat's... a very forthcoming spy. For additional context: this is part of US DoJ Initiative to target Chinese Nationals for economic espionage. Meng / Huawei was extradited under initiative scoped only for Chinese Nationals. Corporations typically pay fines for sanction busting, but Chinese executives are (now) targeted for extradition for similar crime. Related, few months ago, DoJ also lumped RICO charges against Huawei. Typically reserved for individuals not entire corporate entities. Basically US DoJ is using every tool in the box to disproportionately prosecute Chinese actors. Reflected in analysis that individuals swept up under this initiative receive greater sentencing than norm. Good recent talk on the subject: Margaret Lewis | The U.S. Department of Justice's China Initiative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9I2TZzcv8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9I2TZzcv8g This guy could be spilling beans for lighter sentencing. But also likely a defection to drum up support for the narrative. His confessions like "level 9 technician" that works for university lab is eerily close to "anecdotes" I've proponents of the initiate echo over the last few years. It almost feels like a manufactured consent soundbite, eerily repeating heads for someone following the subject. My understanding is there's moderate pushing back at how uncomfortably red-scare and racial coldwar 2.0 policies under this admin's China-hawks has been. Ultimately it may be counterproductive... but election coming up, so time to build that hard on China narrative.
- 737min 6y agoAre you saying that the two countries are not enemies?
- dirtyid 6y agoWell the spectrum is between enemy and competitor. Hawks are arguing former, doves and moderators the latter. Policies and tolerance towards costs will differ depending on position i.e. there's room for cooperation on some issues if not viewed purely as enemy. Partner is definitely off the table though.
- 737min 6y agoThere is always some room for cooperation, even in the middle of a cold or s hot war, but it’s easier if sn enemy is defined as such.
- thorwasdfasdf 6y ago>> Wang is alleged to have made fraudulent statements on this visa application. Specifically, in his visa application, Wang stated that he had served as an Associate Professor in Medicine. seriously, that was the fault they found? it was just a mix up with his occupation. so what if he was military? this isn't going to end well. If we randomly go arresting chinese people trying to return to china, they're just going to do the same back and US citizens are going to get arrested in China for equally BS reasons.
- huy-nguyen 6y ago> Wang is alleged to have made fraudulent statements on this visa application. Specifically, in his visa application, Wang stated that he had served as an Associate Professor in Medicine in the PLA, from September 1, 2002 through September 1, 2016. > In reality, when interviewed by officers of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at LAX on June 7, 2020, Wang provided information that he was, in fact, still currently a “Level 9” technician in the PLA, employed by a military university lab. > According to court documents, Wang was still employed by the PLA while he was studying in the United States and he made false statements about his military service in his visa application in order to increase the likelihood that he would receive his J1 visa. He stated on his visa application that his employment with the military ended in 2016 when in fact he continued working for them. That’s visa fraud right there. You cannot knowingly provide materially false information to obtain US immigration benefits. They were totally right to charge him.
- thorwasdfasdf 6y agoImagine for a second, that you're filling out a visa application and you've stopped working for the army and started working another research job. Now, if you're still being paid, on retainer you could say that you're still working there or not, it could be either way depending on what definition you use. He probably just forgot what he wrote on his visa. How was he supposed to remember every last detail of a visa application from 4 years earlier? Imagine if they ask you, the next time you go abroad about every last detail on your visa application, do you think you could remember every last date of where/when you were employed? who knows, maybe his wife filled out the application for him, or his secretary. jailing people for a simple visa application mistake is a big mistake. Bascially, they're assuming he's a spy. whatever happened to "innocent till proven guilty"?
- rkapsoro 6y agoInteresting little data point: I just asked my gf (who is from China mainland) to take a peep at WeChat, and it hasn't blown up with this story (yet?).
- 737min 6y agoVery good news that this is finally getting attention
- baybal2 6y ago@dang can we change the headline to reflect that the summary says that he wasn't a military officer, but a civilian employee at PLA?
- georgeburdell 6y agoDo civilians in the military get ranks? I'm having a time squaring what you're saying with what's in the article. >Wang provided information that he was, in fact, still currently a “Level 9” technician in the PLA, employed by a military university lab. CBP officers also obtained information that this roughly corresponded with the level of Major
- baybal2 6y agoCivilian technicians at many NATO militaries also have "levels." A difference in between a civilian worker in the military, and a ranked officers is exactly them being a civilian, and another being a member of military command. No civilian employee anywhere there commands troops around. A distinction that can not be overlooked, and be more obvious.
- sudosysgen 6y agoA level 9 technician? Sure. There are level 2 and level 3 technicians in a lot of military IT departments :)
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- sumnobody 6y agoTwo words: Fuck china.
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