China convicts U.S.-based scholars as Taiwanese spies

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Associated Press

BEIJING – A court sentenced two U.S. residents to 10 years in prison on charges of spying for Taiwan, clouding hopes for improved U.S.-China ties ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

After the sentencing of Gao Zhan late Monday, and Qin Guangguang on Tuesday, the White House called for their release on humanitarian grounds. The two are Chinese-born scholars with residency rights in the United States.

Today, China deported a Chinese-born American business professor convicted of spying for Taiwan, the Foreign Ministry announced.

Li Shaomin was expelled this morning to the United States, the ministry said in a brief written statement.

Both China and the United States had hoped that Powell’s visit, which begins Saturday, would ease relations following strains caused by a collision in April between a Whidbey Island-based surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet.

“We’re following it carefully and we’ll see what happens next,” Powell said in Vietnam, where he will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan today on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific conference.

Gao, 39, is a researcher at American University in Washington, D.C. She was detained Feb. 11 during a visit to China. Chinese officials also temporarily held her 5-year-old son, an American citizen, without notifying the U.S. Embassy as required by treaty.

Qin reportedly taught at U.S. universities and worked for a U.S. medical group in Beijing.

“Both collected intelligence for spy agencies in Taiwan, causing a serious threat to China’s national security,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.

A Chinese scholar, Qu Wei, also was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in jail. Qu provided secrets and intelligence to Gao and Li, Xinhua reported.

Another American citizen, Wu Jianmin, was detained April 8 on suspicion of spying for Taiwan but has yet to be tried.

Even after this week’s sentences, there was still speculation that China would seek a way out.

“The only rational explanation is that the Chinese plan to release these people either before, during, or shortly after Powell’s trip,” said Winston Lord, a former U.S. ambassador to China. “Anything else would be mind-boggling stupidity.”

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