Dr. Gao Zhan

Dr. Gao Zhan

July 2008, Dr. Gao Zhan

Born in Nanjing, China in the early 1960s, Dr. Gao Zhan received [her] M.A. in Chinese Literature from the Nanjing University in 1987. She immigrated to the US in 1989, following the crackdown of the Chinese students' movement in which she participated. She obtained her PhD in Social Science at Syracuse University in 1997. A green card holder, Zhan is married with three children.

Zhan first came upon the eyes of the Intelligence community when she was formally charged with espionage by the Chinese government on March 27, 2001. On July 24, 2001, in a closed trial on charges of collecting intelligence for Taiwan, Zhan was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Due to the intervention of US President George W. Bush and US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Zhan was released and allowed to return to the US on July 28, 2001, after being incarcerated for 166 days by the Chinese government.

According to federal prosecutors, from Aug 1998-2001 Zhan ran the Technology Business Services, a business specializing in exports to China. These Chinese businesses Zahn worked with were tied to institutes that perform research and development for the Chinese government, including the Chinese military. Included among the many items Zhan exported to China were microprocessors that can be used in digital flight control and weapons systems, including the identification of targets. The Chinese paid the Zhans approximately 1.5 million dollars for these microprocessors, an amount not reflected on the Zhans tax returns. These microprocessors are export-controlled items and cannot be sold to a foreign entity without the permission of the US government.

Investigators say Zhan attempted several times to transfer technology materials to entities of the Chinese military that specialize in aircraft and radar. During the investigation information came to light that she utilized aliases, posed as a professor from other institutions when calling private US military contractors, and claimed she wanted information on the technology for scholarly research. These acts do not paint Zhan as a political activist, but rather, as someone who is doing something they know is wrong show the attempts utilized to hide it.

US officials are not sure if Zhan's arrest in China in 2001, where she was sentenced for selling secrets to Taiwan, then given a "medical parole", was a ruse to influence her to cooperate with them. Zahn denies speculation that her detention was part of a Chinese government ruse. Is it possible the arrest and conviction were a ruse to either cover for Zhan's spying activities or to engender the support of Zahn by the US government? Yes, it is possible, and as it goes in the intelligence world, we may never know the "rest of the story."

As one of several academics jailed in China in recent years, Zhan's detention became a cause for politicians and human rights activists. A month after her release from incarceration in China, Zhan told Voice of America "I have nightmares almost every day." She described lengthy, intense interrogation sessions. She further suggested the Chinese interest in her was probably related to work with US-based political scientists that specialize in Taiwan.

Zhan pled guilty on Nov 26, 2003 to tax fraud and will be sentenced in March 2004 for up to 10 years in prison on the charge of helping export sensitive US technology to China. Her husband, Xue Donghua, is also appearing in court and is expected to plead guilty to a misdemeanor tax violation and can receive up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The couple has agreed to refile updated federal tax returns. During Zahn's court confession at the time she pled guilty, she stated she did not harm U.S. national security and that she never intended to help the Chinese government that had once imprisoned her. Zahn advised she pled guilty to accept responsibility for her actions "as a God-fearing Christian" and to spare her husband and three sons, ages 8, 1 and 2 months, the strain of a long trial.

Prosecutors have agreed to ask for a reduced sentence as Zhan is working with the US government to identify other individuals who are illegally seeking to import sensitive American goods. Although her felony conviction leaves her subject to deportation, the prosecutors have told the court they will not recommend deportation as long as she "provides substantial cooperation." Zhan sold additional electronic equipment to China, and federal officials said they were ready to charge Zahn, as the items had no civilian uses.