There are a lot of hard working dedicated patriotic personnel at CIA, and then there are those who decide for whatever reason to step over to the dark side, and sell out their nation to those seeking to undermine U.S. National Security.
We disdain those who sell out our U.S. The Chinese and the Russians disdain those of their nations who do the same. We take advantage when there is an opening, and they do the same. We salute our flag, they salute theirs.
Chinese Intelligence saw an opening and they took it (and they still are), their target — retired CIA personnel. Even though they're retired from the CIA, they still carry a lot of baggage in their upstairs, how the CIA system works. Gaining insight into how the CIA system works, is like a candy-store full of goodies to the opposing side. We do the same. All of this is a nightmare for our Counter Intelligence, as we, as theirs, when we're able to breach their National Security and gain access to their candy-stores. And they wonder why gray hair comes early, a nightmare for Counter Intelligence,
Back to the story, last year former CIA Jerry Chung Shing Lee plead guilty and was sentenced to 19 years for conspiring with Chinese Intelligence beginning in 2010 when he left the agency. His compromising CIA methods led to the deaths of Chinese informants.
The latest case is that of a 15 year veteran of the CIA, 67 year old Alexander Yuk Ching Ma of Hawaii, was charged today Monday August 17th with his selling U.S. secrets to China and then unwittingly admitting his spying to the FBI . Ma joined the CIA in 1967 and retired from the agency in 1989. Ma met with at least five officers of China's Ministry of State Security in Hong Kong. Ma disclosed CIA's internal organization, methods of covert communications, and the identities of CIA officers and assets.
After Ma left CIA, he got a job as a Chinese linguist at the FBI's Honolulu field office. There he copied/photographed classifed documents on missile and weapons systems as well as other U.S. secrets, and passed it on to his Chinese handlers. When the FBI became aware of Ma's treason they set up a sting posing as a representive for the Chinese government. The FBI recorded their sting on video. Ma disclosed to the FBI why he did it, he said he wanted the motherland to succeed. Ma also had an 85 year old relative who had worked for CIA also passed on information to Chinese Intelligence. He hasn't been charged as he suffers from an advanced cognitive disease.
The passing on of State Secrets to opposing sides, is no game, it all too frequently leads to many deaths, and wrecks many battlefields.
J.
” at the FBI’s Honolulu field office. There he copied/photographed classifed documents on missile and weapons systems as well as other U.S. secrets, ”
Why would those things be going through an FBI field office>
J,
Would you please explain how the remit of the FBI includes “missiles and weapon systems”? Thank you.
Did anyone notice the ethnic angle at all? Did anyone notice how jews are loyal to Israel and Chinese ethnics are loyal to China?
These two took money from China and gave them secrets that they vowed to protect. They also wanted their ‘motherland’ to succeed. Are all Chinese ethnics in America loyal to the ‘motherland’? Sure, not all Chinese in America will treat China as the motherland, but how would you know who does? If you can’t distinguish the bad apples from the good, then treat all as bad. That way, you will at least save some of your system.
fluesterwits and MA
The vast amount of published secret documents is so large that a lot of it is distributed to subscribed distribution lists that list a long list of authorized recipients who in effect maintain a library of classified documents. the weapons described in these documents would be foreign systems. If they were US the IC would have no interest in them.
So I’m thinking, is banning smart-phone apps with foreign origins that are suspected of illegal data mining and other susceptible acts reasonable/necessary or not from this point on?
With that being said, it seems that the U.S. and China are in fact quite engaged in a Cold-war type standoff with special emphasis in the digital and cyber area. I could only hope that it won’t become hot one day.
ancientarcher,
“If you can’t distinguish the bad apples from the good, then treat all as bad. ”
That’s the justification FDR used to incarcerate Americans of Japanese descent.
I do not mean this as a comment on you personly, Colonel, but your comment on the vastness of secret material and the size of distribution lists reminds me of the adage that, “The only way to assure that two people can keep a secret is to kill one of them.”
Wow. Poster boy for treason. Why only 19 years?
I’m going to guess it’s because he either had something to offer in return to avoid a death penalty or that he caused the death of field agents very indirectly by revealing a method that led to their identification, ‘we use coke bottles for dead drops’. If you rat someone out by name, code name, location, or anything close to personal id and they are executed then you should get the worst punishment we have on the books.
Regarding, whether or not to use ethnic Chinese for Chinese espionage, it’s not an easy call. You need people w/good language skills to at least interpret data and probably as field agents. A white guy like me who studied a little bit of Latin in High School is not going to hack it.
ancientarcher,
Since Critical Theory says that American culture is white supremacy, we can trust only the pale folks for their loyalty to America. And then, since the History et al departments are full of commies and the International Relations dept full of Trotskyites, we can’t recruit any of those peoples.
The IC should limit their applicant pool to only the white engineers and (maybe) the white physical-scientists.
Jokes aside, the American system of loyalty pledges does need a thorough updating. But then, too many Americans have already embraced the Anti-American Critical Theory crap. So that whole loyalty ship has sailed long ago. One of the many problems with “America” as an ideology, a Proposition-Nation Civic-Nationalism.
Col Lang,
A most remarkable timeline if one pieces
together all the press accounts.
Joins CIA in 67; retires in 89 [21 years];
lives/works in Shanghai till 2001 [12 years];
leaves Shanghai for Hong Kong, has meeting in
hotel with MSS officers [meeting videotaped by
someone, now available to FBI]; moves to Honolulu
2001; accepted by FBI as contract linguist 2014;
2020 lured by FBI False Flag operation into confirming
role as MSS agent [again videotaped].
Indeed. [spoken with a rising inflection]
Deo Vindice
Nightsticker
Ma would have been 14 years old in ’67 if he is 67 years old now. Error, perhaps?
“lives/works in Shanghai till 2001 [12 years];”
Sounds to me as though a red flag should have gone up around 1990! Perhaps the CIA thought he was still working for them in Shanghai? Perhaps he was? Perhaps the red flag did go up, but it was the Chinese who were alarmed? Pretty much nothing about this sounds right to me. And they are just now getting around to figuring it out?
The filing of the affidavt of complaint against Ma was made by Chris Jensen, SA, FBI
Fred,
That was one of the more shameful aspects of FDR’s terms. He didn’t intern everyone of German and Italian heritage!
Hopefully we can discern better now
Fourth and Long
We have nothing like that although marrying money is an old naval tradition.
jack
Would have required interning Eisenhower, Walter Krueger, etc.