Human Rights Activest pleads guilty to spying for Communist China

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Human Rights Activest pleads guilty to spying for Communist China

Posted: 11/26/2003 2:25:53 PM EDT

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Gao was one of several Chinese-born academics, writers and entrepreneurs with ties to America who were detained in 2001 by China, contributing to tense U.S.-Chinese relations at the time.

Her release was secured in part by direct intervention from President Bush in a phone call to Chinese President Jiang Zemin and came only a few days before Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to visit Beijing.

U.S.-China relations also were strained in 2001 when a Navy spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea and was forced to make an emergency landing. China finally released the plane to the U.S. after three months, enough time to possibly remove some sensitive equipment.

11/26/03 14:06 EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
' target='_new'>Activist Admits Sending China Technology
By CURT ANDERSON, AP

AP
The U.S. helped free Gao from a Chinese prison.

WASHINGTON (Nov. 26) - A human rights activist whom the U.S. government helped free from a Chinese prison in 2001 pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally sending $1.5 million worth of high-tech items to China.

Gao Zhan entered the plea in federal court in Alexandria, Va., to one count of unlawful export and another count of tax evasion. Her husband, Xue Donghua, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Gao, a permanent U.S. resident alien, was arrested by Chinese authorities in February 2001 and convicted of spying for Taiwan. She was released after five months in jail under intense pressure from the U.S. government and worked until spring 2002 as a researcher at American University here.

According to federal prosecutors, from August 1998 through 2001 Gao ran Technology Business Services, a business specializing in exports of technology to China. The exports were made to Chinese companies tied to "institutes" which perform research and development for the Chinese government, including the Chinese military.

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Among the items sent to China were microprocessors that can be used in digital flight control and weapons systems, including identification of targets. Although these microprocessors also have commercial uses, they cannot be exported without permission of the U.S. government.

Gao was paid $1.5 million by China for the microprocessors and other items, but prosecutors say she and her husband did not report most of the income on their tax returns.

Gao faces a maximum of 37 months in prison, with her husband facing up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Prosecutors say they will ask for a reduced sentence because Gao has been working with the U.S. government to identify people in the Chinese government who are seeking to import sensitive American goods.

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Gao was one of several Chinese-born academics, writers and entrepreneurs with ties to America who were detained in 2001 by China, contributing to tense U.S.-Chinese relations at the time.

Her release was secured in part by direct intervention from President Bush in a phone call to Chinese President Jiang Zemin and came only a few days before Secretary of State Colin Powell was due to visit Beijing.

U.S.-China relations also were strained in 2001 when a Navy spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea and was forced to make an emergency landing. China finally released the plane to the U.S. after three months, enough time to possibly remove some sensitive equipment.

11/26/03 14:06 EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Human Rights Activest pleads guilty to spying for Communist China

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