| Human Rights |
|
| The Chinese Espionage Story and the US-China Relations |
|
| India, Pakistan and Kashmir Region |
|
|
MEMORANDUM FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENTAL ELEMENTS
DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
NATIONAL LABORATORIES
FROM: BILL RICHARDSON (signed) SUBJECT: Asian Pacific American Concerns I recently had meetings with several of the national leaders of the Asian pacific American community. These leaders expressed their concerns that Asian Pacific Americans as a group were finding their loyalty and patriotism questioned in the wake of the espionage allegations. I also met with Asian Pacific Americans scientists working in our Laboratories who relayed their concerns about discrimination or racial profiling. Early last month, I issued a very clear statement that any actions of one individual are not a reflection on any other American citizen. I would like to state in the strongest possible terms that I will not tolerate racial profiling at the Department of Energy or at any of its Laboratories. Please ensure that this message is delivered in the clearest possible terms to each and every employee in your organization. As a Hispanic American, I have felt the painful sting of offhand bigotry and thoughtless generalizations. I am attaching a copy of my remarks that I delivered before the Committee of 100 in New York City on April 30, 1999 *. Please take the time to read these remarks and share the message they convey with your employees. Attachment (* The attachment is very long. The 80-20 Initiative is not providing it.) |
| May 20, 1999 Contact: Mark Kornblau: (202) 225-0855 pager (800) 759-8888 pin 1272253
FIRST EVER CHINESE AMERICAN CONGRESSMAN Washington, D.C. - Congressman David Wu today questioned Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson as the Secretary testified before the House Science Committee. Wu urged Secretary Richardson not to unfairly discriminate against Asian Americans due to recent scandals involving allegations of spying. Following is a transcript of Congressman Wu's remarks: Thank you Mr. Chairman, and thank you Secretary Richardson, for appearing here today. I was not born in America. I was born in Taiwan. At the age of six, I came to America with my family - because my parents wanted to start a new life - and my father wanted to pursue a graduate degree in a field of engineering called metallurgy. I was lucky, my parents pushed me to work hard in school, and I did. I got a good education, went to some very good schools, majored in bio-chemistry, considered becoming a doctor or scientist, went to law school, and began my own law practice in Portland, Oregon. At our firm, Cohen & Wu, we focused primarily on software and international trade. I traveled overseas frequently, visiting every province in China, doing business in Singapore, Hong Kong, and a number of other Asian destinations. I even spent six years negotiating a Sister City Relationship between my hometown of Portland - and my ancestrel home of Suzhou. Closer to home, I practiced intellectual property - I worked closely with start-up technology firms. I was hands-on with some of the most cutting-edge technologies in the world. Recently, I became a father to a son named Mathew, who was born on the fourth of July. I was elected in a congressional district with a Chinese American population of less than one percent, and became the first Chinese American ever to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Secretary, as you well know, America's greatest strength is that it is an open society - where every citizen has the freedom to pursue their dreams, every citizen, every American. Some become doctors or businessman. Others become teachers or scientists. Some become Members of Congress, or even Cabinet Secretaries. I am here before you today because those who came before us fought and died for that freedom. And I want to do everything in my power to preserve that freedom for those who come after me. The events surrounding the Los Alamos controversy have cast two dark shadows. One is a shadow on our national security. The other is a shadow on the American Dream. It is my understanding that well-qualified American graduate students are now choosing not to apply for positions in America's labs because of the negative stereotypes that this event perpetuates. I also understand that the managers at these labs have told some of their American employees that they will have trouble being promoted. This is not the American dream, Mr. Secretary, this is an American nightmare. Mr. Secretary, had the current political climate existed when I was travelling internationally, when I was courting software start-ups - would I be sitting here today? The danger here is in the real or imagined limits we put on the minds and hopes of our own people. In preventing these thefts from occurring in the future, we must be careful we do not act like the very regimes we fear will obtain these technologies. Mr. Secretary, what are you doing to ensure that all Americans are treated fairly in the course of these investigations, and that - as we clear up the shadows of espionage - no American feels the shadow of unfair discrimination over their shoulder? |