華裔工程師間諜指控致中國與國際間核合作降溫
Allen Ho was still reeling from his arrest during a conference in Atlanta, Georgia, when armed Federal Bureau of Investigation agents began interrogating the nuclear energy consultant about his work in China, without any lawyer present.
何則雄(Allen Ho)仍對自己在佐治亞州亞特蘭大參加一次會議時遭逮捕感到吃驚。當時，沒有任何律師在場，持有武器的聯邦調查局(FBI)人員開始就這位核能顧問在中國的工作進行詢問。
That business involved hiring retired US nuclear engineers and consultants to advise China General Nuclear Power Corp, the state-owned company that plans to invest in an ￡18bn reactor in the UK.
此事涉及僱用退休的美國核工程師和顧問，爲中國廣核集團(China General Nuclear Power Group)提供諮詢。這家中國國有集團計劃在英國投資建造一座價值180億英鎊的反應堆。
Mr Ho, born in Taiwan and a US citizen since 1983, was charged with violating a statute designed to prevent American scientists from helping other countries develop an atomic bomb. The case comes during an era of unprecedented nuclear co-operation between the west and China, but also a time of growing trade friction and accusations of cyber crime and espionage.
生於臺灣、自1983年加入美國國籍的何則雄，被控違反一項旨在阻止美國科學家幫助其他國家開發原子彈的法規。此案發生於西方和中國之間一段前所未有的核合作時代，那也是一段貿易摩擦日益加劇和對網絡犯罪和間諜活動的指控不斷增多的時期。
After his arrest in April, Mr Ho’s imprisonment for six months in a maximum security cell in Tennessee has chilled Chinese technical co-operation with the international nuclear industry and raised accusations of racial profiling in the US.
在4月被捕後，何則雄被監禁在田納西州一個最高警戒等級安全牢房達長六個月，這令中國與國際核工業之間的技術合作冷卻下來，並在美國引起了對於“種族定性”(Racial Profiling)的指控。
Along with Mr Ho, CGN was also indicted on charges of producing “special nuclear material” outside the US without the required approval from the US Department of Energy.
在何則雄遭指控的同時，中國廣核集團也被控未經美國能源部(DoE)的必要許可，在美國以外生產“特殊核材料”。
The company said in an emailed statement that it “has long been adhering to the principle of lawfulness and compliance in all our business operation and international exchanges and will carry on following such a principle”.
該集團在一份電子郵件聲明中稱，“我們在所有業務運作和國際交流中一直秉承了合法、合規的原則，並將繼續遵循這一原則。”
Wary of being indicted if they step foot on US soil, CGN executives have since skipped meetings run by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Asme), which sets international standards for everything from school heating boilers to nuclear reactors.
由於擔心踏上美國土地會被起訴，後來中國廣核集團的高管們已迴避了美國機械工程師協會(Asme)舉辦的會議。該協會爲從學校供暖鍋爐到核反應堆的一切設施提供國際標準。
This is an issue because engineering decisions made in China affect the world’s reactor fleet. China is the furthest ahead in constructing the European Pressurized Reactor destined for Hinkley Point in the UK as well as the AP1000, an American-designed reactor under construction in China and the US. And under bilateral accords CGN and other Chinese groups will supply components for US and UK reactors.
這就產生了一個問題，因爲中國的工程決策影響着世界上的衆多反應堆。在建造用於英國欣克利角(Hinkley Point)的歐洲壓水式反應堆(EPR)、以及在中國和美國建造的由美國設計的AP1000方面，中國目前已是遙遙領先。根據雙邊協議，中國廣核集團和中國其他集團將爲美國和英國的反應堆提供零部件。
“China is the only country that can provide the information at present” for the AP1000, said Zhang Qiang, Asme’s chief representative in China. Other forms of international co-operation continue.
“中國是目前唯一能爲AP1000提供信息的國家”，Asme駐中國首席代表張強表示。其他形式的國際合作正在繼續。
Mr Ho does not deny helping CGN improve operations at its nuclear plants but his defence insists that is a far cry from making material for nuclear weapons. Frank Wu, chairman of the Committee of 100, an advocacy group, said the indictment had inflamed fears of “racial profiling” in the Chinese-American scientific community.
何則雄並不否認曾幫助中國廣核集團改進其核電廠的運行，但他的辯護詞堅稱，這跟製造核武器材料相距甚遠。倡導組織百人會(Committee of 100)會長吳華揚(FrankWu)說，這份起訴書引起了中美科學界對“種族定性”的恐懼。
The engineers Mr Ho employed told the FBI that they shared only publicly available information with Chinese nuclear companies, according to court documents. Some helped inexperienced Chinese engineers decipher technical manuals at Daya Bay, the French-designed reactor that supplies electricity to Hong Kong.
根據法庭文件，何則雄所聘用的工程師告訴聯邦調查局，他們只與中國核電企業分享了可公開獲得的信息。有些工程師幫助沒有經驗的中國工程師解讀了大亞灣(Daya Bay)核電站的技術手冊。該核電站是由法國設計的，爲香港提供電力。
Others advised on developing a nuclear fuel process so that CGN could avoid paying hefty royalties to the French. They have not been publicly charged.
其他工程師在覈燃料開發流程方面提供諮詢意見，這樣中國廣核集團就可以不用向法方支付高額的特許權使用費。他們沒有受到公開指控。
The case against Mr Ho will rest on testimony from a Taiwanese-American consultant he employed who secretly pleaded guilty 18 months ago to selling subscription-only research reports on nuclear power to China.
針對何則雄此案的審理，將依照他聘用的一名美籍臺灣顧問的證詞。18個月前，該顧問已祕密認罪，承認曾向中國出售僅供訂閱的、有關核能的研究報告。
The case comes amid growing alarm at Chinese state-backed hacking and theft or copying of valuable intellectual property.
此案發生之際，中國政府支持下的黑客行動、以及盜取或複製寶貴知識產權的做法，正引起越來越大的警覺。
Since the 1990s, the US government has prosecuted 173 cases under the economic espionage act, including 48 involving China. Mr Ho is one of seven people charged with spying for China under other statutes.
自1990年代以來，美國政府已根據《經濟間諜法》(EEA)提起了173起訴訟案，其中48個案子跟中國有關。何則雄是美國根據其他法規，以爲中國從事間諜行動爲由而指控的七人之一。
“There’s nothing about this case that’s normal,” said Peter Zeidenberg of Arent Fox, Mr Ho’s lawyer who also represented Mr Xi. “There's an undercurrent running through all these cases and it's because of these individuals' association with China.”
“在此案中，一切都是不正常的，”何則雄的律師、Arent Fox律所的彼得.蔡登伯格(Peter Zeidenberg)說。“所有這些案件的背後存在着一股潛流，這是因爲這些人跟中國有關係。”
