Something that drew my attention this sleepless morning was a news article via Asian American blogging grandfather Angry Asian Man that discussed a scientist sentenced to 51 months in prison for giving technology to the Chinese government. Here's that article.

Here's the lowdown...

• Scientist named Quan-Sheng Shu decides to bribe the Chinese government with technology for "cryogenic fueling system for space-launch vehicles" to be used in a facility "designed to send space stations and satellites into orbit, as well as provide support for manned space flight and future lunar missions". Sounds pretty tame to me.
  
• Our federal prosecutors decide to charge him with one count of bribery (okay, that's fine), and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act.
  

What first raised my eyebrows was whether technology for "manned space flight" could really be what the Arms Export Control Act refers to when describing things that "would contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of weapons of mass destruction, support international terrorism, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, or prejudice the development of bilateral or multilateral arms control or nonproliferation agreements or other arrangements" as it does in the actual text of the act. But I'm just a college student (who happens to be both geeky and anti-militant); I'm only vaguely confused as to why space flight is considered military technology.

What really irks me is what this case does and does not say about the criminalized racializations of Asians in America. The local news article focuses on particular details in this case: speaking through an interpreter, clandestine communication with the Chinese government. If you read the comments at the bottom, the image of an Asian enemy within American borders really begins to show. For people like me who read these news pieces through an Asian American lens, we've seen this before. He's the yellow peril, obviously.

Of course, that's not the full picture of this man. He tried to bribe the Chinese government of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which makes me think his concern for self-interest really outweighed any real desire to do "harm to the United States" or any other state. By failing, he seemingly did more damage to himself than he could have done to any state by succeeding. This is a case of extraordinary greed and stupidity, but I think those who try to paint him as a spy are probably wildly off the mark.

Still, Angry Asian Man seems to waste no time in his awfully witty "Asians Behaving Badly" segment to call out Shu for again bringing the Yellow Peril image upon fellow Asian Americans. He argues that this is not something that Asian Americans need after the "Wen Ho Lee debacle". What I want to ask AAM is: what exactly was the Wen Ho Lee debacle? If said debacle means what happened to this man, let's get some facts straight: Wen Ho Lee's indictment was actually supported by nothing (nothing!) except for an exclusionist fear of Asian espionage.

Dear Angry Asian Man, if you'd like to shift blame for the yellow peril stereotype onto its victims (a careless criminal like Shu and an innocent person like Ho) instead of the (often racist) sociopolitical atmosphere which engenders the perception, I'd also expect you to blame a desperate and mentally strained Vietnamese immigrant for perpetuating what another gunman named Cho left behind after Virginia Tech. This mistaken logic may have been why you called Jiverly Wong a coward.

This is pretty unacceptable. You have a lot of pull as an influential and well-respected Asian American blogger, and perhaps it's unfair to demand correctness all the time. Nevertheless, some mutual checking is in order here. These issues demand more insightful and critical commentary than "Asians Behaving Badly".

In related news, the tone of this post could be another example of what my friend has personally cited as "the Asian American community eating itself." My apologies; I take responsibility for this... and would be happy to read responses in the comments section.