The Sandia National Weapons Laboratory holds an Asian-Pacific Festival to celebrate the ethnic diversity of its workers INTERACTIVE Read the full Cox Report Highlights of the report RELATED VIDEO CNN's Don Knapp looks into the problems the alleged espionage is causing some Chinese Americans Windows Media 28K 80K

May 27, 1999
Web posted at: 10:55 p.m. EDT (0255 GMT)

LIVERMORE, California (CNN) -- Some Asian-Americans who work in the technology field fear a backlash in the wake of the congressional report alleging that China stole nuclear weapons secrets from U.S. laboratories.

"There are some sensitive feelings," said Ray Ng, a scientist at the Sandia National Weapons Laboratory in Livermore, California. "We feel there is a cloud of suspicion over all Asians as a result of allegations over one individual."

Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-born scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, was investigated in relation to the allegations of China espionage. He was fired in March for alleged security violations, although he has not been charged with any crime.

The Sandia National Weapons Laboratory held an Asian-Pacific Festival Thursday to celebrate ethnic diversity and acknowledge the contributions of nearly 100 Asian-Pacific Americans who work at the facility.

But the festival came as many Asian-Americans say they are beginning to experience prejudicial remarks tied to the China spying allegations.

Chinese-Americans working across the road at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are among those who have reported such experiences.

"There were some bad jokes and snide remarks about Asians, (such as) 'How come you are making so much money -- maybe you're selling secrets to the Chinese Government,'" said Joel Wong.

"Everywhere you go in the Chinese-American community, they're talking about it," said Ling Chi Wang, an ethnic studies professor at the University of California Berkeley.

Wang said the release of the congressional report detailing the extent of China's alleged theft of secrets has made matters worse. He is particularly disturbed by the references to 3,000 businesses labeled as fronts for Chinese espionage.

"I sometimes get visitors from China who come to Berkeley to visit. We take them out for lunch," said Wang. "Does that make me a spy? It's really quite a chilling and intimidating atmosphere we're living in."

Officially, management at the nation's nuclear laboratories condemns prejudice.

"It's clear the loyalty and patriotism of the people that work at the labs doesn't depend on whether they came from Asia or Africa or Latin America or Europe," said Art Tonau at Sandia.

But some Asian-American workers at these government labs say they are worried that the congressional report may paint them all as un-American.

There are also fears that the espionage allegations might mean some Chinese scientists will be denied promotions or work in this country, said a New York research scientist who would only give his surname, Yang.

"I believe most Chinese here love this country. There's a lot of freedom," said Yang, who moved to New York two years ago from China and hopes to become a U.S. citizen. "Most of us just want to live here, make a contribution and be comfortable."

Correspondent Don Knapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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