Spying for China: Mom told me to do it!

I admit it – I have a suspicious mind. I often look for a conspiracy in news reports, even when there is no mention of it. I'm often right. It happened again, this week, when I saw the news report that two Navy sailors in Southern California were arrested and accused of providing military secrets and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers.

On the face of it, that wasn't enough to raise my suspicions – it was the further information about them: their names. Both of them were using "American" names – Patrick and Thomas – but their real names were Chinese – Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao. In fact, they were in the process of applying for U.S. citizenship.

The 22-year-old Wei was charged with spying for the Chinese under the Espionage Act, as a machinists' mate aboard the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship moored at the Naval Base San Diego. His clearance gave him access to sensitive national security information he freely made available to the Chinese.

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Zhao, who is 26, worked at the Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, which is home to several aircraft squadrons and the naval construction battalions in the Pacific.

He was charged with taking bribes in exchange for providing sensitive military information to his Chinese contact, who posed as an economic researcher.

When I saw their names and saw that one was "in the process of becoming an American citizen" – I became suspicious. Apparently, I wasn't the only one.

Randy Grossman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, told a news conference that Wei, who is a naturalized citizen, "chose to betray his newly adopted country" rather than report the inappropriate contact with a Chinese intelligence officer.

According to the indictment, Wei has been working for the Chinese since early 2022 and has provided them with weapons and defense abilities of U.S. warships, plus information as to the number and training of Marines in a planned international maritime warfare exercise.

When the 22-year-old Wei appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle Pettit in San Diego, she denied him bail after prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk. In fact, as he is charged under the Espionage Act, if he is found guilty, he could face life in prison.

Interestingly enough, it has now become public that prosecutors say that Wei was encouraged by his mother to sell the military secrets to the Chinese. She has not been named, but the report is that when she and her son were together last Christmas, she encouraged his treason.

It's reported that the mother encouraged her son to continue to provide information to the Chinese. Reportedly, she felt that it would create good feelings for her son with the Chinese so that later, he might get a good job with them!

Mothers!

As for the other sailor, Zhao, he is charged with taking money for the information he provided to his Chinese intelligence contact. At this point, publicly at least, it is not known just how much money he was paid. It's said it was at least $10-$15,000 dollars.

The whole issue with Chinese spying concerning our military has caught the attention of top officials, and national security officials have sounded the alarm.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, in testimony before Congress, warned, "There's no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas, our economic security, our national security, than the Chinese government."

No mincing of words there. And given the evidence of Chinese spying and their using our military as sources of information, we should take his words as fair warning. The Chinese government is our enemy, and we should take all proper precautions to protect ourselves and our country against its efforts.

The final question is: What will the Chinese do with the information they are getting, and how will they use it against us?   People today are talking about the threat of World War III – from the Chinese or the Russians. It would be a mistake for us to ignore the possible threat. It's real, and the possibility of that horror is not something I want to consider. But I – WE – have no choice.

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