Ehrlich on Washington column, May 24, 1998

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 2 1 093 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Week of May 24, 1998 "CHINAGATE" ALLEGATIONS ARE DISTURBING Ten years ago, my predecessor in Congress took a sledge hammer to a radio to protest a corporation’s sale of sensitive submarine technology to the Soviet Union. Last week, we were once again confronted with allegations of technology falling into the hands of a Communist adversary. This time, the alleged culprit is not a greedy company, but a White House allegedly willing to jeopardize national security in order to raise campaign dollars. The New York Times has reported that Johnny Chung, a Clinton friend and fund raiser who has pled guilty to federal bank and tax fraud, has admitted to tunneling $100,000 provided by a Chinese official with close ties to the Chinese military into Democratic campaign coffers in 1996. Reports of foreigners making illegal contributions to the Democratic party are hardly new, so you are probably not surprised by this latest revelation. What sets this allegation apart from the others is the disturbing sequence of events surrounding it. Here are the facts. During the past few years, the Chinese military has been working to acquire state-of-the-art military technology. At the same time, American aerospace companies have wanted to use low-cost Chinese rockets to launch satellites into space in an effective, economical manner. In October 1995, then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher, citing “significant military and intelligence interests,” issued an order limiting China’s ability to launch American satellites. Starting in November 1995, the CEO of Loral, an aerospace company under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly sharing secret missile technology with China, donated a total of $632,000 to the Democratic Party — making him the party’s single largest contributor during the 1996