Southern California's Chinese community is watching another spy scandal developing in its backyard, and some have a sense of deja vu.
The latest case involves four people arrested last month on multiple charges of stealing U.S. military secrets from an Orange County aerospace firm for the People's Republic of China.
Federal authorities initially accused Chi Mak, wife Rebecca Laiwah Chiu, Tai Wang Mak and his wife, Fuk Heung Li, of the theft of government property, conspiracy, transporting stolen goods and aiding and abetting.
But when a federal grand jury returned indictments Tuesday, three were charged only with failing to register as agents of a foreign government; all charges were dropped against Fuk. One reason for the reduced charges, officials said, was because the data the defendants allegedly passed along turned out not to be classified.
The case has generated much discussion in the Chinese community, but the decision by the prosecutors to drop some of the more serious charges has underscored the feeling of some that there is more smoke than fire in the U.S. effort to crack down on Chinese spying.
When Lisa Yang, a local developer and president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, heard about the spy case, her first reaction was "Uh-oh, here it comes again.... I just hope the FBI really has a case, not like with Katrina."
"Katrina" is Katrina Leung, the prominent Chinese American activist and businesswoman who was charged with being a double agent for the Chinese government. But a federal judge ended up dropping all charges against her.
Yang said she was relieved that the case turned out not to be as far-reaching as some initial reports suggested. But she is also disappointed.
"I'm sad for the FBI and for what the government prosecutors have done to these Chinese Americans," she said. "I'm sad because you make other people think you abuse the power."
Cat Chao, 39, who is host of a Mandarin-language talk show at evening rush hour, plans to talk about the most recent spy case tonight.
She said many in the community talk about any news of Chinese American espionage with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
"It's a cultural thing to always believe authority -- whatever teacher says is always right," Chao said. "Then we found out Wen Ho Lee is totally innocent. It was humiliating for our Chinese community and Taiwanese community."
