Leave Wen Ho Lee Alone

Finally, justice has prevailed. Well, not quite because it is a plea bargain. Dr. Wen Ho Lee was released on Tuesday, September 14, 2000 from nine months of solitary confinement. Dr. Lee was held for mishandling nuclear weapons information, yet the United States government never had any sound evidence proving him with any crime during his captivity. Where is the so-called "due process" that forms the basis of the American judicial system? The government went after Dr. Lee simply because the fact that he was ethnic Chinese. They feared that Dr. Lee might have leaked nuclear weapon information to China. This is closely reminiscent of World War II when Japanese Americans were forced into camps in the United States. Two issues that slap me in the face are the fallacy of the United States justice system and the fact that Americans still brand the character of a person based on his ethnicity.

Stop shaking Janet Reno, you look ridiculous and you know it. Dr. Lee, his family, and the Asian Americans that hold high tech positions in the United States all deserve a sincere apology from you and the rest of US Department of Justice. Reno recently said that Dr. Lee should be accountable for his imprisonment himself because he would not have suffered through this ordeal if he had just admitted and confessed about the allegations brought against him. What is a person to admit or confess if he did not do anything wrong? If the US Government has sufficient evidence about any felony committed by Lee, go ahead and prosecute him through the due process of law. Don't try to bend a 60-years-old man's will by confining him to jail.

One of the many reasons that immigrants come to this country is to get away from the political instabilities of their own country. This whole episode is such an embarrassment for the American justice system and a contradiction of what freedom in the United States stands for. The fact that the US government went after Dr. Lee because he is ethnic Chinese illustrates its gross ignorance. Dr. Lee is from Taiwan and the estranged relationship between Taiwan and China is known throughout the international community. To say Dr. Lee pays allegiance to the Beijing government sounds as ridiculous as stating a Kuwaiti worships Saddam Hussein.

This case also puts a fear into all the Asian Americans' mind about getting a job that would have to deal with top secrets or sensitive materials. It is a great shame because many bright minds in the high tech industry are of the Asian ethnicities. Asian Americans are one of the most productive and innovative work forces in America. The Wen Ho Lee incident illustrates that there is still a tremendous amount of ignorance present in America in regards to the perception of Asian Americans.