14 DAY TRIAL // The international scientific community is in disarray again, after a scientist from Virginia – a naturalized American citizen, who was born in China – admitted to federal indictments on several accounts, including the transmission of classified military data and breaking the Foreign Corrupt Practices law.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, through its spokesman, Qin Gang, said on Tuesday that China never sought such information from American scientists, nor has it requested them by any means. He thoroughly dismissed the accusations that the US government formulated, and said that "The so-called (allegation) of China stealing space technology from the United States is sheer nonsense. It has ulterior motives, which will not be successful."
The US Justice Department found out that 68-year old Virginia physicist, Shu Quan-Sheng, between 2003 and October 2007, transmitted multiple pieces of information to the Chinese, mostly regarding the design of liquid hydrogen tanks, used for space flights. Specs for valves, filters and pumps were all delivered abroad by Shu, who pleaded guilty to all accusations.
In 2007, the man also bribed Chinese government officials, offering them some $190,000 to grant the company he represented a $4 million contract, for projects referring to liquid hydrogen tanks. The company Shu was working for apparently operates from France, US officials said.
The sentencing in this case is scheduled to take place April 6th, 2009, with the defendant facing up to 10 years in prison for each of the accounts of information export, between 2003 and 2007, as well as 5 years for breaking the Foreign Corrupt Practices law.
Such issues that arise between countries are very delicate, as there are numerous interests at stake, considering the fact that China has just recently performed its first spacewalk. Following the US, Russia and the European Space Agency (ESA), China is the fourth nation to go to space. Now, it seems like some of the problems it fixed on its spacecraft were offset with the help of American information.