SPY CASES - UNITED STATES

Larry Wu-tai Chin

After working for the U.S. military in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Larry Wu-tai Chin was employed by the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) as a Chinese-language translator at its overseas installation in Okinawa. Chin later resigned and immigrated to the United States. After obtaining his U.S. citizenship, Chin was rehired by FBIS as a staff employee. He worked with Chinese-language materials in that organization until his retirement in 1981. Arrested in 1985, Chin was tried and convicted of espionage on behalf of the People's Republic of China, conspiracy, and tax fraud. He committed suicide in February 1986.

Barron, John. "Tracking China's Master Spy." Reader's Digest, Dec. 1989, 97-99.

This title is a bit much, even for Reader's Digest; John Barron should have known better. Larry Chin may have been the only PRC spy ever found in the CIA, but a "master spy" he was not.

Engelberg, Stephen. "30 Years of Spying for China Is Charged." New York Times, 27 Nov. 1985, B8.

Hoffman, Tod. The Spy Within: Larry Chin and China's Penetration of the CIA. Hanover, NH: Steerforth, 2008.

Kappler, Gazette (Montreal), 13 Sep. 2008, finds that this "book tells us as much as we'll ever know about Larry Chin, probably. Yet it also illustrates the limitations of the genre -- which Hoffman admits in a preface: In real life, 'spies are ghosts' and 'the mystery is never absolutely resolved.' We're left wanting to know more about what drove Chin."

Marcus, Ruth, and Joe Pichirallo. "Chin Believed Planted in U.S. as Spy." Washington Post, 6 Dec. 1985, A1, A22.

Pichirallo, Joe. "Ex-CIA Analyst Gave Secrets to China for 30 Years: FBI Details Its Case against Chin." Washington Post, 24 Nov. 1985, A1, A24.

Pichirallo, Joe. "Retiree Kept Close CIA Ties." Washington Post, 27 Nov. 1985, A1, A10.

Safire, William. "I Remember Larry." New York Times, 2 Jan. 1997, A19.

In the midst of President Clinton's Asian money flap, Safire recalls the role of Larry Wu-tai Chin, the CIA employee who was arrested in 1985 and convicted of espionage on behalf of the People's Republic of China. Safire suggests that China is certainly interested in learning U.S. trade secrets and in influencing U.S. trade policy.

Shenon, Philip. "Former C.I.A. Analyst Is Arrested and Accused of Spying for China." New York Times, 24 Nov. 1985, A1, A31.

Shenon, Philip. "U.S. Says Spy Suspect Had Access to Highly Classified Data." New York Times, 3 Jan. 1986, A12.

Toner, Robin. "Bail Denied Ex-CIA Worker in China Spy Case." New York Times, 28 Nov. 1985, B8.

Wines, Michael. "Bigger Role Laid to Suspected Spy." Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 1985, 1, 10.

Wines, Michael. "Spy Reportedly Unmasked by China Defector." Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 1986, 1, 12.

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