Although the case against Southern California socialite and businesswoman Katrina Leung ended with almost all charges against her being dismissed, many say it raises grave concerns over a new kind of stereotyping that questions the loyalty of Asian Americans.
“Every time when there’s a big case against a Chinese or an Asian American, at the end it turns out to be nothing,” said Charlie Sie, a former Xerox vice president and member of the Committee of 100. “They give the impression that all of these Chinese Americans are spies. Instead it’s a tax matter. I don’t understand this. It bothers me a lot. They could pick on any of us.”
The case was announced in April 2003 with extreme fanfare as one of the biggest cases ever of espionage against the United States. Current CIA Chief Porter Goss called the case “of serious concern.” Three U.S. senators called for a full-scale investigation of U.S. espionage operations, another senator called for an investigation of China funneling money into American political campaigns, and at least three senior officials lost their jobs.
Leung was portrayed as a seductress and double agent who had originally been recruited to spy on China for America, but turned around and seduced two FBI agents (in Los Angeles and San Francisco), then used her intimate relationships to pass on American secrets to China.
The episode raises the issue not only of a fear of Chinese spying on America, but also on the role of Asian Americans spying for the United States against China and other Asian countries.
“The fact that she was collecting information on behalf of the FBI … gives me a mixed feeling,” said Charlie Woo, CEO of Mega Toys and a longtime political activist. “Now as I look back, I’m not sure that the good work that she did was done out of the goodness of her heart or under the cover for another agenda –– to collect information from the community.”
“I’m now careful with the people I know in that circle, which is somewhat unfortunate,” continued Woo. “This is the community that is interested in promoting U.S./China relations.”
– Sam Chu Lin and Samson Wong contributed to this report
THE MAKING OF AN
FBI EMBARASSMENT
1969
– Katrina Chin moves to New York City with her aunt from Hong Kong. She becomes a model student.
1972
– Katrina enters Cornell University’s college of engineering.
– After President Nixon opens America’s door to China, Katrina begins her association with Chinese business representatives and officials.
1975
– Katrina marries fellow student Kam Leung in small rural community of Dryden, N.Y.
1977
– Kam gets his doctorate in biochemistry. Couple moves to Chicago where Katrina earns MBA from University of Chicago.
1978
– FBI special agent James J. Smith is assigned to Foreign Counterintelligence squad in Los Angeles focusing on China.
1981
– Katrina is recruited by Smith to spy on China in exchange for financial payments. After less than a year in Cincinnati, Leungs move to Los Angeles.
1993
– Leung nominated to National Committee on the United States-China Relations.
November 2000
– Smith retires from FBI.
April 2002
– FBI becomes suspicious. Top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in Washington, D.C., places Smith under extensive surveillance.
November 2002
– FBI secretly searches Leung’s luggage at LAX before her departure to and return from China.
April 9, 2003
- Katrina and Smith are arrested. FBI accuses Leung, 49, of being a double agent; seducing and carrying on an affair with Smith, 59; and stealing secrets from Smith and passing them to China.
April 10, 2003
– William Cleveland, Jr. admits he also had a long-term romantic affair with Leung and resigns from his post at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco.
April 19, 2003
– Leung’s “family and friends” issue a statement portraying her as a patriot who made numerous trips to China at the request of the FBI, only to be scapegoated after an “embarrassed” FBI discovered that two agents were having affairs with Leung.
April 26, 2003
– Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) writes to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, saying Leung may have funneled money from China into American political campaigns.
April 28, 2003
– Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) demand overhaul of FBI procedures in the handling of confidential informants.
May 3, 2003
– Government indictment against Leung carries no espionage charges. Nonetheless, Magistrate Victor B. Kenton orders Leung held without bail, declaring her a flight risk and expressing concern about her close ties to high-ranking officials in China.
June 19, 2003
– U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper is assigned to oversee Leung’s case.
– Government’s case immediately begins falling apart under full-court scrutiny. Court rules Leung poses no flight risk, sets bail and lays groundwork for her release from prison.
June 23, 2003
– Daniel Sayner, longtime head of counterintelligence in Los Angeles, forced to resign.
February 3, 2004
– FBI drops wiretap evidence, including tapes from a Los Angeles hotel room where the two allegedly had sex.
April 9, 2004
– One year after her arrest, the federal judge rebukes the federal government, saying Leung’s indictment is too vague and that the government may have withheld key evidence.
May 12, 2004
– Smith pleads guilty to lying about his affair with Leung, and pledges to cooperate with the FBI. All other charges are dropped. He pays a $10,000 fine.
November 18, 2004
– Leung’s lawyers accuse government prosecutors of misconduct by refusing to allow information from Smith that could prove Leung’s innocence.
January 6, 2005
– Judge Florence-Marie Cooper throws out the case against Leung.
March 23, 2005
– Prosecutors appeal Judge Cooper’s dismissal, and say they will continue to pursue charges against Leung.
December 16, 2005
– Leung and the FBI strike a plead deal to end all actions against Leung. Like Smith, she pleads guilty to lying about their affair. She is also put on probation and pays $10,000 fine.
– Leung issues statement: “I’m looking forward to putting this behind me and continuing on in this beautiful country. God bless America.”
“When we look foreign no matter how long we have been in America, we are always viewed as foreigners … as Asian Americans have to prove to the rest of the world that we are patriotic. We love America. We are U.S. citizens. We have to prove it, and that’s difficult.”
– Lily Chen, former mayor of Monterey Park
“Asian Americans –– particularly Chinese Americans in this day and age –– have to realize that they are in high risk-occupations if they are involved in security and high-tech careers. It’s no different than Arab Americans being looked at closely in airports and other important sites. The same for African Americans being seen in the dark in high-income neighbors. Those are the facts of life.”
– Charlie Woo, CEO of Mega Toys and veteran
political activist
“She was in jail and I don’t think that was fair. I don’t think she should have been incarcerated to that extent because [others involved in the case were] in prison. I feel like there may have been some prejudice.”
– Uki Lee and her husband David who have known
Leung for 20 years
“Asian Americans –– particularly Chinese Americans in this day and age –– have to realize that they are in high risk-occupations if they are involved in security and high-tech careers. It’s no different than Arab Americans being looked at closely in airports and other important sites. The same for African Americans being seen in the dark in high-income neighbors. Those are the facts of life.”
– Charlie Woo, CEO of Mega Toys and veteran
political activist
“Katrina was a very capable person and was a master translator as well as excellent speaker. I guess I would not have seen her as a FBI accomplice. So that did surprise me. [I knew her] as a community person.”
– Assemblywoman Judy Chu