Thread: 2 Espionage Cases Involving China Unfolding

2 Espionage Cases Involving China Unfolding; 4 Arrested Including DoD Official
Monday, February 11, 2008


WASHINGTON — Two espionage cases were unfolding Monday, as one U.S. Department of Defense official, two Chinese nationals and a former Boeing Co. engineer were arrested.

In the first case, the Justice Department said Tai Shen Kuo, 58, Yu Xin Kang, 33, both of New Orleans, and Gregg William Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, Va., were arrested on espionage charges in connection to "the passage of classified U.S. government documents and information to the government of the Peoples Republic of China," according to a department release.

The Justice Department has scheduled a 2 p.m. ET press conference to discuss the cases.

Officials said the criminal conduct took place over a two-year period, in which Kuo, a naturalized U.S. citizen and businessman — working for an unnamed Chinese official — cultivated a relationship with Bergersen, and other U.S. government employees.

The release states that Bergersen is a weapons systems policy analyst at the Arlington, Va.-based Defense Security Cooperation Agency, an agency within the Department of Defense.

Officials said Kuo was able to obtain "sensitive U.S. government information, including classified national defense information. Much of the information pertained to U.S. military sales to Taiwan," although the release did not clarify further the information that was obtained.

Bergersen is charged with being the source of the classified information collected by Kuo.

Kang is a Chinese citizen with permanent resident status. The government alleges he transferred information between the unnamed Chinese official — "PRC Official A" — and Kuo.

The FBI was raiding a home in New Orleans on Monday in connection with the spy investigation.

It was not immediately clear how the Louisiana raid was related, but FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said the case would be discussed at the news conference in Washington.

Officials said a Los Angeles-area Chinese national who worked for a technology company until 2006 also would be charged for passing on sensitive military data to the Chinese government.

The second case revolves around former Boeing engineer Dongfan Greg Chung, 72, of Orange, Calif. He faces charges of economic espionage and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Peoples Republic of China. Prosecutors say he stole Boeing trade secrets, including ones related to the space shuttle program.

FOX News' Ian McCaleb and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330320,00.html

Favored nation indeed.