China: Suspected Acquisition of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Secrets

CRS-23
Concerns About Racial Profiling. In other action, Members of Congress
expressed concerns about possible racial profiling used in the investigation of Wen
Ho Lee and ramifications of this case on Americans of Asian Pacific heritage. The
House, on November 2, 1999, passed H.Con.Res. 124, introduced by Representative
Wu to express the sense of Congress that the Attorney General, Secretary of Energy,
and the Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should
enforce security at the labs and investigate allegations of discrimination. On August
5, 1999, Senator Feinstein introduced S.Con.Res. 53, condemning prejudice against
individuals of Asian and Pacific Island ancestry, which the Senate passed on July 27,
2000. (See also Racial Profiling and Selective Prosecution below.)
CTBT. The Senate, led by Republican Members, voted (51-48) to reject the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on October 13, 1999, because of
reservations about the implications for U.S. national security. Some supporters of
the CTBT argued that the treaty was one way to impede the PRC’s nuclear weapon
modernization, even if it acquired U.S. secrets, because Beijing needed to test, while
blueprints and computer codes were not enough. Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan
and Republican Senator Arlen Specter wrote in September 1999 that “most
Americans have heard that China may have obtained secret information about U.S.
nuclear weapon designs. What they haven’t heard is that China may not be able to
do much with that information — if the U.S. Senate does the right thing.” 76
Administration’s Actions
Response to Security Concerns
Concerns Since 1995. The Clinton Administration acknowledged that
improvements to security measures were required at the nuclear weapon labs and said
that it took a number of corrective actions in response to indications in 1995 that
China may have obtained secrets about the W88 in the 1980s. Officials said that,
by mid-1996, DOE had reported to the FBI, National Security Council (NSC), and
Intelligence Committees in Congress that there were serious concerns about China.
Prompted by information from DOE and the CIA, the FBI had begun an investigation
in September 1995. On April 7, 1997, the FBI completed an assessment of “great
vulnerability” due to inadequate counterintelligence at the labs and reported those
findings and 16 recommendations to DOE as well as the Senate Intelligence
Committee. 77
Presidential Decision Directive-61. Former Energy Secretary Federico
Pena defended DOE policies during his tenure from March 1997 to June 1998, saying
that the department took a number of actions to strengthen security, including
briefing the FBI, CIA, the Departments of Justice and Defense, and the NSC. In July
76 Dorgan, Byron and Arlen Specter, “U.S. Wants, Needs Nuclear Test Ban Pact,” USA
Today, September 13, 1999.
77 Testimony of FBI Director Louis Freeh before the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary, March 17, 1999.