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Joint
Press Statement by Asian Pacific American
Organizations December
16, 1999
This
is a joint statement on behalf of the undersigned
Asian Pacific American organizations in response
to the December 10 indictment of Dr. Wen Ho
Lee and the position of the Department of Justice
in relation to Dr. Lee's case.
We are
deeply disturbed about the Justice Department's
manner in investigating and prosecuting Dr. Wen
Ho Lee, a Chinese American scientist formerly
employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in
New Mexico, and the negative effects of this
case upon the Asian Pacific American community
in the United States. Our concerns are the following:
- First,
the government's investigation that led to
Dr. Lee's indictment was flawed by negative
ethnic stereotypes and fueled by anti-Chinese
hysteria.
- Second,
Dr. Lee has been
unfairly singled
out in an unusual,
if not unprecedented,
criminal prosecution
for conduct when
it appears non-Chinese
American government
employees who have
mishandled classified
information have
not been similarly
charged.
- Third,
there
is
an
apparent
lack
of
due
process
and
abuse
of
discretion
in
the
government's
decision
to
oppose
Dr.
Lee's
release
on
bail
during
the
pretrial
phase
of
this
case.
- Fourth,
there
is
persistent
and
misleading
media
coverage
which
continues
to
portray
this
case
as
one
of "Chinese
espionage," involving
an
alleged "Chinese
spy" when,
by
its
selection
of
charges
in
the
indictment,
the
government
has
not
charged
that
Dr.
Lee
disclosed
U.S.
classified
information
to
any
other
person,
much
less
to
anyone
connected
to
China.
Robert
Vrooman, former security chief at the Los Alamos
National Laboratory and a central figure in the
Lee investigation, has publicly acknowledged
that Dr. Lee was selected as the target of the
investigation because of his ethnicity. We condemn
racial profiling in such government investigations.
The Justice
Department's decision to prosecute Dr. Lee under
42 U.S.C. 2276, 42 U.S.C. 2275 and 18 U.S.C.
793(c) and (e), is highly unusual, if not unprecedented.
Dr. Lee has not been charged with disclosing
classified information to a third person. To
our knowledge, no other person in U.S. history
has ever been charged with these felonies (several
of which carry a potential life sentence as the
maximum penalty) merely for mishandling classified
information, without any claim that the person
actually disclosed or even sought to disclose
such information to a foreign government. There
are also multiple reported cases of non-Chinese
American government employees who have mishandled
classified information and yet who have not suffered
any government sanction, much less prosecution
under these statutes. The government's motives
and its commitment to fairness in Dr. Lee's case
are questionable.
The Bill
of Rights guarantees fundamental due process
to all criminal defendants, and the Eighth Amendment
forbids excessive bail in criminal cases. Yet
Dr. Lee has been held in jail since his arrest
on December 10 despite the willingness of Dr.
Lee and his supporters to post reasonable bail
for his pretrial release. With his wife and children,
he has deep roots in the New Mexico community,
where they have lived for more than 20 years.
He has been in failing health. He voluntarily
surrendered his U.S. passport many months ago.
The isolation of Dr. Lee from his family and
attorneys is thus an abuse of discretion, applying
unfair tactical pressure upon Dr. Lee and his
defense counsel. His continued pretrial detention
compromises Dr. Lee's due process rights in defending
himself against such grave criminal charges,
particularly in a case where the pretrial proceedings
may last more than a year.
Continued
media shorthand references to this prosecution
as a "Chinese spy" case distort the facts, perpetuates
anti-Asian stereotypes and threatens the civil
rights of all Asian Pacific Americans. According
to the indictment, Dr. Lee has not been charged
with "espionage" or "spying." The government
does not allege that Dr. Lee acted on behalf
of, or passed any classified information to,
any foreign government or any unauthorized person,
a key fact not made clear in some accounts of
the case or in print media headlines.
In response
to these four concerns, the undersigned organizations
are pledged to two common objectives: (1) to
ensure that Dr. Lee receives the equal protection
and due process of law to which he, like any
other American, is entitled under the Bill of
Rights; and (2) to be vigilant in the protection
of all Asian Pacific Americans – particularly
those working in our national laboratories and
the defense industries – against pernicious "racial
profiling" or any other racially driven discrimination.
Half a century ago, acting out decades of anti-Asian
hysteria but also in the name of "national security," the
United States government incarcerated 120,000
Japanese Americans based solely upon their racial
identity and without due process of law. The
Asian Pacific American community has sworn that
such an egregious violation of our civil rights
will never occur again, even to one Asian Pacific
American, and our organizations will monitor
the future handling of Dr. Lee's case in that
light until his guilt or innocence is ultimately
determined by the courts.
Today,
there are more than 150,000 Chinese American
engineers and scientists working in industry,
government and academia, including some 15,000
in the defense sector. Chinese American scientists
have won five Nobel prizes in physics and one
in chemistry for the United States. Asian Pacific
American scientists and engineers now form the
backbone of American high technology, accounting
for perhaps one-third of all technical personnel
in Silicon Valley alone, and have made our nation
stronger, healthier and richer. And yet, because
of the manner in which the government has handled
Dr. Lee's case, they are all at risk for being
targeted as well.
We therefore
urge the government and media to remember the
invaluable contributions made by Chinese Americans
and other Asian Pacific Americans. The use or
tacit approval of racial profiling in government
or in private sector defense-related employment
will surely deter some of the very best and brightest
engineers and scientists from serving our nation
and helping to protect its future. It would be
the ultimate, bitter irony for America if - due
to Dr. Lee's case and the current anti-Chinese
hysteria in some quarters - our national security
were to be damaged by the loss of these dedicated
professionals to public service and to our own
defense industries. We, the undersigned organizations,
are pledged to ensure that all Americans - without
regard to race, color or national origin - will
have the full right to serve this country to
the best of their abilities.
On behalf
of the following organizations:
Margaret
Fung Asian
American Legal Defense and Education Fund
George Koo Asian
American Manufacturers Association
Stewart Kwoh, Kathy
Feng Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Chu Jong Association
of Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists of New Mexico
Munson Kwok Chinese
American Citizens Alliance
Charles Woo Chinese
American United for Self Empowerment
Wei Kao Chinese-American
Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California
Henry Tang, Winnie Chan Committee
of 100
T. Timothy Chen, Ph.D. International
Chinese Statistical Association
John Tateishi Japanese
American Citizens League
Laura Hong, Nancy Choy National
Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Karen Narasaki National
Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
Y. S. Cheng NM Chinese
American Action Committee
George Ong, Daphne Kwok Organization
of Chinese Americans
C. Y. Wong Overseas Chinese
Physics Association
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