Chinese woman jailed for smuggling US technology

Medicine & Health / Other

A Chinese woman was jailed for one year on Friday after pleading guilty to attempting to smuggle sensitive military-grade technology to her homeland, justice officials said.

Qing Li was also fined 7,500 dollars after admitting a charge of conspiring to illegally export accelerometers used for measuring shockwaves back to China.

The accelerometer, manufactured by California-based Endevco, is designated as a defense article by US authorities and cannot be exported without permission from the State Department.

Qing was arrested after a sting operation between April and October last year, where she negotiated with an undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent about delivering an accelerometer to China.

Court documents said Qing had conspired with an individual identified as "Wang," who wanted the technology for a "special" scientific agency in China.

Š 2008 AFP

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Posted by Ausjin 09/28/08 01:18

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Accelerometers are defense articles now? My first guess would be that they could be used to help with guided munitions, but I cannot see a simple accelerometer improving that much when the Chinese can already shoot down satellites. Perhaps it is to assist with guiding drones?

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Posted by Modernmystic 09/28/08 10:52

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What's the point? They've stolen more than half their missile tech and military tech as it is.

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Posted by Duude 09/28/08 15:50

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Stolen missile technology?
Actually the most important missile technology was exported through Hughes Electronics and Loral Space & Communications Ltd. with the blessing of the Clinton Administration. The CEO at the time was Bernard Schwartz who was a huge Clinton Campaign donor. If you recall there was also a time in the 90's when it was revealed that this same campaign received illegal contributions from Chinese donors. I would love to see how much the Clinton library has received from foreign donors but that's secret.