‘I Am Not a Spy’

At the New California Media Awards dinner, an award-winning journalist in his acceptance speech, mockingly announced to all, “I am not a spy.”

I know a lot of things he is not. He’s no spy.

It was a joke. And not. It was to the point. The remark got a rousing reaction, especially from Asians near the front of the stage -- all foreign-born Chinese from the Chinese language media. The joke was an unexpected release for a certain amount of tension that’s been building. And it was the recognition that the worst is still yet to come. With the three-volume Cox report that concludes China has systematically taken U.S. nuclear secrets through acts of espionage, it’s not going to be easy to be Asian American. Despite assurances from Energy Secretary Bill Richardson that no accusations toward individuals will be applied to our group as a whole, one wonders if maybe the pre-emptive strike is the best strategy.

Just wave the flag and declare, “I’m not a spy.”

Barring that, with more than 60 percent of the community foreign-born, we may all be about to enter one of the more racist periods in American history. And all because a few politicians would rather use the spy case as a golden opportunity to revive the Cold War. Who would benefit from that?

It’s just not easy being a lone superpower these days. Especially when you’re having trouble controlling Serbia with conventional weapons. When you’re losing a war that no one understands, in a country no one in America can find, a little bit of China bashing goes along way.

It harkens back to a simpler time, when enemies were big, bad and red. Americans understand that. Big, bad, red, and foreign. And spying on us. These are the times for which the wistful Cold warriors are nostalgic. But it doesn’t make sense. No matter how thick the Cox report is, it’s thin gruel for the conspiracy folks. As nukes go, no matter what China steals, the U.S. is still so far out in front it doesn’t matter. The U.S. nuclear arsenal numbers 11,000 ICBMs and 7,000 nuclear warheads. The Chinese have less than two dozen missiles that can even reach the U.S. They don’t have B-2 stealth bombers, or Trident subs, or MX missiles. From all accounts, the stuff China may have stolen is for “second-strike” operations. That means it would be used only in the event it was attacked. And who might that attacker be?

Who would be silly to take on China in that way? The nuclear ruse merely provides some context for U.S. animosity. Build up a Red Menace idea and keep China isolated from the modern world. Build up U.S. dander and bulk up the nuclear arsenal in the United States. Like we really need it. More immediately, the Cox Report seems to target the move to bring China into the World Trade Organization. WTO membership comes at a time when more Americans seem to want to embrace China, and not fixate on the Cold War past. China supporters argue that bringing China into order through the marketplace as a WTO member would do much to promote peace and prosperity, as well as change China’s domestic politics. The more responsible reaction seems to be taken by those who recognize the security breaches in U.S. labs and work to shore them up. That’s taking real responsibility. But if done unfairly, it’s also where the real racism can enter.

Already, people may be being denied work based on race. And all based on spy paranoia. Frankly, when you add it all up, our spies have probably taken more from China than theirs have. Better to call it a draw before any real fears get whipped up. Because that’s when innocent people get hurt.

But then we’ve seen it before, of course, in the two-year probe of ACDC, my term for the “Asian Campaign Donation Controversy.” Ironically, the day the Cox Report came out, John Huang, the former Democratic Party fund-raiser, announced his deal with the government. He will plead guilty to just a single count of conspiracy to break campaign finance laws. That’s uno. One. Not multiple. One. And all based on relatively minor offenses that involving reimbursals for contributions.

But just look at the hell he’s lived through. In 1996, Huang, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, was a key Democratic fund-raiser among Asian Americans. In 1997-’98, Congressional committees questioned whether he was a conduit for illegal foreign contributions. There were televised public hearings. Media insinuations all around. The Democrats returned $1.6 million in donations he raised. Asian Americans became political pariahs. Many lost jobs and promotions, and as a group, they lost prestige.

Last week, the Justice Department acknowledged it had no evidence suggesting Huang engaged in political or economic espionage or violated national security laws. Just campaign finance. And what self-respecting politician is interested in reforming that, especially now that there are possible nuclear spies to go after?

It’s the latest frenzy. Beware. We’re all Asian Americans, caught in the middle again.

Emil Guillermo’s new book is available. E-mail: emil@amok.com.