Liars, Traitors, and Spies: Wen Ho Lee and the Racial Construction of Disloyalty

Abstract

This brief essay explores the recurrent themes raised in the investigation and prosecution of Wen Ho Lee for espionage in the absence of any evidence that he passed any information to any foreign agent. In this essay I reflect on 150 years of American legal history and show how Asians in America have been legally and socially constructed as foreign, and how that foreignness translates into distrust and presumptions of disloyalty in various circumstances. Elements of my own personal family history are woven into the discussion. I trace how that presumption of disloyalty has played into the Wen Ho Lee prosecution. Finally, I describe some of the complex repercussions this presumption creates in the formation of Asian American racial identity.

Keywords: Asian American, foreign, social construction, discrimination, race

JEL Classification: K1, K10