China

Senior NASA scientist pleads guilty to lying about China involvement

Published

11 months ago

January 14, 2021

Staff Writer

A senior NASA scientist pleaded guilty Wednesday to lying to authorities about his participation in a program that encourages researchers to develop relationships with China in exchange for grants, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

Meyya Meyyappan, of Pacifica, California, was charged with one count of making false statements to the FBI, NASA OIG and the USAO, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Meyyappan participated in the Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese government program to recruit people familiar with foreign technology and intellectual property, and held professorships at universities in China, South Korea and Japan.

On Oct. 27, 2020, Meyyappan was interviewed by the FBI, NASA OIG and the USAO, in New York, New York. During his interview, he falsely told investigators he was not a member of the Thousand Talents Program and did not hold the professorship in China, prosecutors said.

In a statement, FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said, “Members of U.S. government agencies are strictly prohibited from maintaining undisclosed affiliations with foreign entities.”

“Meyyappan violated this sacred rule, and then lied to FBI agents about it,” Sweeney added.

Prosecutors said Meyyappan joined NASA in 1996, and has held a position of chief scientist for exploration technology at the Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley since 2006.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said, “Meyya Meyyappan held a trusted position at NASA, with access to valuable intellectual property. In violation of the terms of his employment and relevant laws and regulations, Meyyappan failed to disclose participation in a Chinese government recruitment program, and subsequently lied about it to NASA investigators, FBI agents, and our Office. Now, having admitted his crime, Meyyappan awaits sentencing.”

Meyyappan faces up to a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

Meyyappan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, the DOJ said.

Related Topics:china Department of Justice FBI NASA scientist silicon valley

China

Experts Say United States Vulnerable to ‘Electromagnetic’ Attack by Chinese

Published

1 week ago

November 30, 2021

Staff Writer

When Joe Biden was trying to convince Americans to vote for him to become the next President back in 2019, he belittled the concept that China is a danger to the U.S. “Come on man, China’s not a threat” said Biden.

Experts, however, continue to show just how wrong Biden has always been. Fox News reports “experts are warning that the United States is vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack from adversaries such as China, and that time is running out to invest in defending the country from it.”

Last week during a virtual forum hosted by the Universal Peace Federation, Peter Vincent Pry, the executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, said “that poses a real threat of possibly being able to win a war with a single blow by means of an EMP attack.”

“Moreover…they don’t envision employing an EMP by itself. It would be used in conjunction with cyberattacks and physical sabotage, and non-nuclear EMP” added Pry. Experts also warn that while an EMP attack would be “bloodless” at first, a yearlong blackout could kill roughly 90% of the American population.

Fox News reports:

The U.S. electric grid and other infrastructure – such as communications and transportation systems and water and sewer services – could all be devastated by such an attack, experts like Pry warn, noting that time is of the essence for the U.S. to defend itself.

China already possesses “super EMPs” and last summer tested a new hypersonic glide vehicle that analysts warn could deploy the EMP and cause a long-lasting blackout that would shut down key infrastructure and cripple the military’s ability to communicate.

A Pentagon report on Chinese military capabilities details how China has invested heavily in its EMP program, with a strategy that “emphasizes suppressing, degrading, disrupting or deceiving enemy electronic equipment throughout the continuum of a conflict while protecting its ability to use the cyber and electromagnetic spectrum.”

“The PLA is likely to use electronic warfare early in a conflict as a signaling mechanism to warn and deter adversary offensive action. Potential EW targets include adversary systems operating in radio, radar, microwave, infrared and optical frequency ranges, as well as adversary computer and information systems” adds the report.