A US television network has obtained an extraordinary FBI video showing a Pentagon analyst selling US-Taiwanese military secrets to a Chinese spy.
It may be one of the most graphic and detailed pieces of espionage evidence ever to be made public.
Chinese spy Kuo Tai-shen (郭台生), a Taiwan-born naturalized US citizen, can clearly be seen stuffing a wad of money — about US$2,000 — into Pentagon analyst Gregg Bergersen’s shirt pocket as the two are heard discussing a deal.
It happened about two years ago in the front seat of Bergersen’s car as he drove through the Washington suburbs.
The FBI, suspicious that a spy deal was in the offing, had hidden at least two tiny video cameras and sound recording equipment in the vehicle to record the entire transaction.
Just how the CBS network obtained the video is not known, but it will be shown in full on the 60 Minutes news program tomorrow evening.
Parts of it can be seen now on the CBS Web site.
After being shown the tape and other evidence against them, Bergersen and Kuo pleaded guilty. Bergersen was sentenced to 57 months in prison for “communicating national defense information” and Kuo was given 15 years for espionage.
In a statement on its Web site, CBS says that the never-before-made-public video “offers a rare glimpse into the secret world of espionage and illustrates how China’s spying may now pose the biggest espionage threat to the US.”
Michelle Van Cleave, former head of US counterintelligence, is quoted as saying: “The Chinese are the biggest problem we have with respect to the level of effort that they’re devoting against us, versus the level of attention we are giving to them.”
Bergersen, a civilian who had high security clearance, can be heard telling Kuo about classified documents containing details of the weapons systems the US intended to sell to Taiwan.
"I’m very, very, very reticent to let you have it because it’s all classified, but I will let you see it," Bergersen tells Kuo. “You know you can write all the notes you want, it’s just I can never let anyone know ... I’d get fired for sure on that. Well, not even fired, I’d go to [word bleeped out] jail."
As previously reported, Kuo was the son-in-law of General Xue Yue (薛岳)– a key adviser to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石)– and a prosperous businessman involved in the export-import trade with China. At one time he had offices in Taipei and Beijing.
Bergersen may not actually have known that he was selling secrets to China.
He may have believed that Kuo was representing a Taiwanese politician who wanted the weapons’ information to promote his own career back in Taipei.
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