On the other hand, she might have been snookered into it by threats to any family members or friends she still has in China - the lesson here is to not employ in sensitive positions anyone who has close relatives or friends living permanently in China.

If it was, indeed, a case of worries about family members in China then our problem becomes a bit more tricky. We want, on one hand, to make it known that for all of China's fierceness, we can be pretty fierce as well - on the other hand, we want to encourage loyalt among our large population of Chinese-born Americans and, of course, continue to avail ourselves fully of their talents for the overall betterment of our nation.

So, if this is a case of family held hostage in the old country, the solution is to bring that family here to the United States - willing or no, and decidedly without the permission of the Chinese government. We then announce that any Chinese spies who will come over to us in secret (and begin transmitting disinformation to the Chinese) will also get their family into the United States by and by.

If, however, this was just a case of someone snookering us (pretending to be a dissident to get into the country all the while planning on being a spy), then we simply must shoot her as a spy.

What if she were British? Would we be saying the same things? Would our outrage be the same? Don't both nations enjoy a favored trading status with us? The last time I checked, most of the products sold at Walmart came from China not England. Seriously, I don't for one second condone what she's done, but our government is paying big bucks to "spy" on the PRC. Live by the sword...
Truly, this story is bittersweet ...and sour.

Yes, I know that was bad...but I'm kinda on a roll tonight.

Well Tim, what I'd say to you is that espionage is, and always has been, a very dangerous game. As well it should be.

I have always assumed that every government with an embassy in Washington employs spies. Except, maybe, countries too small and poor to employ them. I doubt if Zimbabwe or Luxembourg have a huge spy corps. But even then, I would not be surprised if they had some at least minor espionage stuff going on.

I am not in the least bit angry with the Chinese government for spying on us. I assume it happens. I think only an idiot would think it doesn't happen. And yes, I assume the Brits do too. Yeah, that's right: I assume the Brits have people on the payroll who spy on us. I'm not paranoid about it, and I'm not angry about it. I assume it happens. I also assume that they understand that those spies will be punished severely if they get caught.

Mind you, let's be realistic about the Brits. Formally, they are NATO allies. We have friendly contacts within each others' intelligence organizations, and formal relationships where we trade information. So, while I assume there's subtrefuge between us now and then, it's on a much lower level, and we trust each other a great deal more, based on our historic relationship.

The Chinese? We know for a fact that they want to drive us out of the Pacific Rim, and that they are a belligerent power which would take over places like Taiwan, the Phillipines, South Korea, and Japan, if they could do so.

So yes, I admit it openly: there are different standards here. I'd be less upset with a Canadian, Mexican, Japanese, Israeli, or British spy than I would be with a Chinese or Syrian or Iranian spy.

All that said? Espionage is a game where you cannot afford to be tolerant. You just can't. So the rule should be: if you're a spy, you go to jail, and might well be executed. That, really, is the only way to play the game. You cannot afford to be nice about it.

To be clear, we should be willing to play the game: I'll put your spy in jail for life, and you put my spy in jail for life, and maybe we'll offer to trade them at some point and pretend the whole thing never happened. But come on Tim, you're a soldier. You must get this. You CANNOT be nice to spies, and you can't show them much mercy. You just can't.

Otherwise, you might just as well hang a big "please sodomize me" sign over all your embassies. You know?

Dean,

I have to disagree with you over the point that China wants to move us out of the pacific rim. While this may be reflected somewhat in their official doctrine, I think they NEED us in that part of the world. Who else is gonna buy that rubber dog poop from Spencer's Gifts - Europe? American's buy more plastic poop than any nation in the world. Stand up and be proud. We buy fake dog shit!

Oh, on the rest of your post, I agree 100%.

Tim: I must admit that I'd feel pretty lost without my fake dog poop. You do have a point there.

I've worked (and am currently studying with) students from China. There is a very real concern with some of these people about the relatives who remain behind in China. Indeed, some students are only allowed to study in the u.s. if their significant family members stay behind, sort of as a bargaining chip.

Which leads me to one thing I am thankful for this thanksgiving, and which mystifies me about the loony left: even with the Patriot act, we as a people are far better off than the people of China regarding personal freedom. I cannot imagine living in a country where everyone you meet could turn you in to the government and have you sent to prison. Every time I see someone from the EFF or ACLU or democratic underground or moveon start squawking about how we resemble pre-ww2 germany, I want to scream. Do they not see the rest of the world and understand the qualitative difference between life in the u.s. and life in these other countries, where their very words would get them imprisoned or killed?

The Chinese? We know for a fact that they want to drive us out of the Pacific Rim, and that they are a belligerent power which would take over places like Taiwan, the Phillipines, South Korea, and Japan, if they could do so.

Um, I must respectfully disagree. They don't want us out of Asia-Pacific, if for no other reason because our presence prevents a remilitarized Japan, something that scares them to death.
They want to supplant us as the supreme power in Asia-Pacific. In influence and might. They want to be the ones who says what happens, not the US like it is currently. And they are moving towards that steadily.
They also have no intent to conquer anyone or any place except Taiwan and the Spratly Islands. The Spratlys for power projection, and Taiwan because it is currently an unsinkable aircraft carrier 60 miles from their mainland. Plus, it's a "face" issue.
But in their extensive history, they learned it is too difficult to try to govern too large an area with too diverse a people with too much history of independence. They feel it is better to have a Korea giving tribute and support than a conquered Korea.
I can back all of this up, too.

Nathan,

Six of one, half-dozen of the other - whether its an attempt to exclude us from east Asia, or an attempt to try for global predominance, the effect is the same.

My view is that its inevitible we'll be fighting China within the next 10-20 years.

Mark,

What makes you think China won't be fighting itself within 10-20 years? And I don't mean China vs. Taiwan. In many ways, China is already overextended, particularly the farther you get from its coasts.

Joel,

Its partially because of the internal stresses of China that I figure on a war between us and them.

They'll attack, by and by. An unfree government feeling its oats but blocked from its "rightful" place in the world - we've been through this before; at the turn of the previous century. There is a chance we can finesse the eventual political/economic crisis in China so they don't attack us, but I don't hold out much hope of that.

Its really shaping up to be a horrible tragedy - and entirely un-necessary war but one in which we have only limited control of its inception. It'd be national suicide on the part of the Chinese to attack us - but it was the same thing for Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and this undisputable fact of life didn't prevent their purblind leaderships from trying conclusions with us.

"One suspicious contractor checked her credentials at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where Gao claimed she was working, and discovered she was not employed there. The unnamed company then called investigators."

Good for them. Something I've wondered since this case was first publicized, though: what were the rest of these contractors thinking? Presumably the information they were giving her was somehow classified (or else it wouldn't be espionage, would it?). Maybe a soft-spoken Asian-American professor of computer science didn't seem suspicious?

And BTW, Mark, how is it proposed to bring unwilling family members to the US? I suppose I can imagine someone with such super-cool ability that we'd want to do almost anything to have him or her working for us, but forcibly depatriating (as it were) relatives doesn't sound like such a hot idea if we're trying to decrease the likelihood that there will be people loyal to the PRC living among us. And that doesn't even consider the whole sovereign-adult issue.

Just throw the confessed ingrate in jail, and throw way the key.

Sean Kinsell,

Well, I work from the theory that if we announced completely open immigration to the United States, our population would pass a couple billion within ten years - ie, there's not too many people out there who wouldn't want to come to the US...and those who are a bit doubtful can probably be bribed to think its a really, really good idea.

In the end, though, we can't afford to have anyone in a sensitive position with relatives in China...so, they all eventually have to come here, willing or not. Even the man who says he likes it where he is, doesn't want to come and, anyways, is a fanatic communist who hates his traitor relative in the US has to come...because even this man who renounces his American connections is still an achilles heel for the American-resident Chinese person; the Chinese government would not hesitate for an instant in horribly torturing even a loyal communist if it would assist them in getting what they want out of a relative in the States.

Sovereign adult is great - but it only applies to people who may actively express their soveriegnty - people in China cannot do this, ergo we'd only be usurping what someone else already usurped.

Leftist,

I'm opposed to the death penalty - but traitors should die; if we were snookered by this lady, then a firing squad is the only proper response...on TV, at half-time during the Super Bowl; make it abundantly clear that while generous to a fault, we're not to be trifled with.

"...because even this man who renounces his American connections is still an achilles heel for the American-resident Chinese person...."

Mark, you come up with some beauts, but this takes the cigar band. Since the Chinese government already oppresses people, we should just go the whole way and oppress their asses across the ocean? I thought the alternative we were supposed to be offering was more self-determination, not less.

How about just not allowing any Chinese-American with dubitable connections to serve in a sensitive position? It's not as if such people will be reduced to pumping gas if they're not working for Grumman, or anything.