We caught Chinese technology spies RED-HANDED, claims US government

Six Chinese nationals acting as university professors and graduate students have been arrested on charges of stealing wireless technology from US firms and exporting it to the Middle Kingdom. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged the group with attempting to lift intellectual property from two Silicon Valley companies …

[Anonymous Coward]

Bit rich coming from the US.

"You dare to reveal that we spy on the whole world? You will be incarcerated for the rest of your life."

The US stance on spying.

[Patrick R]

Economic espionage imposes great costs on American businesses

As well, economic espionage by the US imposes great costs on worldwide businesses. Or is it not fair to say? ... Echelon?

[Breen Whitman]

Re: Economic espionage imposes great costs on American businesses

A US drone is on its way pal. Not going to get away with that sort of talk!

[Ole Juul]

Re: Economic espionage imposes great costs on American businesses

I'm not American so obviously not concerned about American businesses. I would actually prefer if they just turn over their technology to the Chinese without so much resistance. Most of what I buy is from China anyway, so American businesses hanging on to things and kicking up a fuss just slows down progress.

PS: I just thought I'd try on a non-US point of view as an experiment to see how that would look. :)

[John Bailey]

One day they may realise that being on their high horse is not the same as having the high ground.

[Graham Marsden]

High Horse?

Apropos of another article on El Reg, is that found at http://www.high.horse ?

[frank ly]

Re: High Horse?

It looks like high.horse isn't registered (yet). It would be great for a forum full of pedantic and didactic discussion on a variety of topics.

[Shannon Jacobs]

So naive. Must be American

No, they do NOT work and study in America "solely to pilfer" AMERICAN information, though there is plenty of it going on--in every direction, and not just limited to America and China.

Many of them are quite sincere and just want the best technical education they can get, and in most fields that still requires studying in America. The most important question is how long that will be true. Both China and India are producing far more engineers than the US these days, and even in the cases where some of those engineers got some of their advanced training in the States, the Americans are quite eager to kick them out ASAP, even in those cases where they want to stay and contribute to the American economy. America's technological head start is eroding away and quite rapidly.

(I wanted to include some citations, but it seemed difficult to find all of the data I wanted in one place... Surprisingly scattered?)

[x 7]

Re: So naive. Must be American

"Many of them are quite sincere and just want the best technical education they can get,"

just how naive can you be? The Chinese send as many as they can in the hope that just a few progress to significant positions where they can steal classified info. For the rest, the Chinese accept that just having them learn is enough. Sincerity? Maybe some of them are, but don't forget who pays their bills and puts pressure on the family back home.....

Doesn't just happen in the USA, happens in Europe as well.

As for your comment "America's technological head start is eroding away and quite rapidly", now why the heck do you think that is? Because your Universities (like ours) chase the overseas money and teach foreigners at the exclusion of domestic students. The Universities are teaching foreign students how to take our jobs away.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: So naive. Must be American

I'd stay away from the cool aid dispenser for a bit. Switch to water, from a trusted source.

[DerekCurrie]

Typical Communist Regime: NO Incentive To Create. Only Incentive To Steal.

I never understand why these events aren't obvious and expected. Try as the do, throw as they will money at the problem, communist regimes and any other dire socialist systems all destroy the incentive to create or innovate. Without an incentive, people turn to crime. This is a constant through history. That's why I use the term China: Criminal Nation.

Dear China,

Dump your ridiculous communist government and join the creative world via a democratic, actual citizen driven government. (And NO, I'm not holding the current awful corporatocracy called the 'US government' up as any example to which to strive. Corporatocracy kills incentive in its own self-destructive way, the blithering idiots).

[Queasy Rider]

Re: Typical Communist Regime: NO Incentive To Create. Only Incentive To Steal.

Have an up vote for "corporatocracy".

[Anonymous Coward]

Another day, another Chinese spy

What would you expect? This must be your first day on the Earth...

[martinusher]

Acting?

They're not 'acting' as university professors and the like, that's what they were doing.

As for lifting technology, this sort of thing used to be rife in technology before companies tightened up the IP agreements with their employees. Back in the good old days finding someone had lifted your presentation -- or website -- was an item of amusement and almost a complement.

The only difference in this case is that the Feds are trying to put a Cold War spin on things -- the Chinese are spies, all of them, they only exist to make the hive strong and take over the world (seriously, they're as much / even more into money than the rest of us......they saw an opportunity and exploited it......ethics, of course, being for other people).

[protectVietworkersDOTcom]

"China lift BAWtechnology ~ Clifbaw. haha."

From page 14 of the Indictment..

On May 25, 2007, WEI PANG emailed HAO ZHANG and HUISUI ZHANG suggesting a name fortheir company in the PRC, "I want to call the company 'clifbaw'. How about your names?" When HUISUI ZHANG responded by asking PANG to "explain the inside meaning," PANG replied: "China lift BAWtechnology ~ Clifbaw. haha."