He spent nine months in a maximum-security prison for one reason – he's Chinese-American.

Dr. Wen Ho Lee is a nuclear scientist who worked at the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory in New Mexico. After claiming he was the most dangerous man in America, the government was suddenly content to settle for an agreement that released him with no fine, no further jail time and no probation.

Dr. Lee was held for nine months in solitary confinement under brutal conditions: he was underfed, and shackled when allowed out of his cell one hour a day for exercise.

The prosecution and media frenzy surrounding Wen Ho Lee exposed the pervasive, and often denied anti-Asian racism in the U.S. The FBI and media painted Dr. Lee as a cartoon-like character, the deceitful but bumbling Asian double agent of James Bond spy movies.

He was accused of spying for China based almost entirely on racial profiling. He was charged during a time that the Republicans and Democrats in Congress were wrangling over trade issues with China. He was used as an issue in that debate.

The government kept Dr. Lee in prison using secret evidence. This same kind of secret evidence prosecution has been used against Arab-Americans. This kind of undemocratic prosecution must be challenged everywhere it's used.

This outrage was met with resistance. It has sparked the largest Asian-American movement since the murder of Vincent Chen.

Those responsible for the persecution of Wen Ho Lee need to be held accountable. At a minimum President Clinton should pardon Dr. Lee -fully and immediately.

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The San Francisco protest was one of many demonstrations, teach-ins, and press conferences held across the country organized by the Coalition Against Racial and Ethnic Scapegoating (CARES). CARES charges that Dr. Lee was singled out because of his Chinese ancestry, and was made a scapegoat for poor security at the weapons lab.

Los Alamos Laboratory has security problems, which have continued after the arrest of Dr. Lee. The former head of security at Los Alamos stated that Lee was targeted because he was Chinese. At the rally in San Francisco, author Helen Zia angrily told the government, “Shame, shame, shame,” referring to the fact former CIA head, John Deutch also mishandled data, but he has not been charged with a crime or jailed.

Other speakers at the rally explained how the persecution of Wen Ho Lee reflects the growing tensions between the United States and China, and likened his persecution based on nationality to police harassment of African Americans and Latinos. Lillian Galledo of Filipinos for Affirmative Action stated the case against Wen Ho Lee was influenced by “cold warriors trying to maintain the 'Chinese threat.'”

Renee Saucedo, of the Centro Legal La Raza, said that Latinos can relate to Wen Ho Lee because, “We are seen as 'illegals' and suffer from racial profiling by the police.” She also praised the coalition of Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans who came together in a statewide effort to end the common police practice of stopping African American and Latino drivers for no apparent reason, “Driving while black or brown.”

As each speaker finished, they shackled themselves together with handcuffs and chains to protest Wen Ho Lee's treatment. Dr. Lee's daughter, Alberta Lee, told the San Francisco rally how her elderly father is kept in solitary confinement, with his hands chained to his waist whenever he leaves his cell.

The discriminatory and inhumane treatment of Dr. Lee has led a number of prominent Asian Americans such as former chancellor Chang-Lin Tien of the University of California, Berkeley, and former California congressperson Norman Mineta to speak out on his behalf. Asian American professional organizations including Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE) and the Association for Asian American Studies have called on Asian Americans to boycott working for the Department of Energy, which runs Los Alamos Labs, as long as Wen Ho Lee continues to be persecuted.

The National Day of Action shows the growth of a nation wide support movement for Dr. Lee. Not since the protests following the killing of Vincent Chin, almost twenty years ago, has the Asian American community, mobilized across the country to take action against racist attacks on a member of their community. Many of those involved are young people.

The rally in San Francisco was supported by local Asian American politicians, leaders of Asian American, African American, Latino, and progressive community advocacy organizations, and from employees of the other atomic laboratories.

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