Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
On June 16, Weinbaum, who was implicated in the situation involving Qian Xuesen, was arrested at home.
On the same day, the California Institute of Technology finally received a letter from the United States Army Sixth Army Headquarters, notifying them that Qian Xuesen's eligibility to participate in classified projects had been revoked by the military.
The colleagues at the institute found it unbelievable but still passed the letter on to Qian Xuesen.
Qian Xuesen's pride was deeply wounded. To be fair, he had enjoyed life in the United States; he had studied and taught here, leading a simple and carefree academic life.
However, the sudden treatment he received from the Americans left him completely bewildered and unable to accept it.
He quietly accepted the letter from the military, wrote a receipt confirmation, and then made a shocking statement to his superiors at Caltech: he intended to resign and return to China.
This action made the FBI's initial suspicions about him seem even more credible.
To those who already distrusted Qian Xuesen, he increasingly resembled a communist, and even worse, a spy.
News of Qian Xuesen's resignation quickly reached the FBI. They immediately called to inquire about what was happening. Qian Xuesen explained that he had expressed his intention to resign to the department head, who had not responded. He was unsure if he had received approval but stated that "beyond this, he had no other choice."
The FBI asked him what he planned to do if his resignation was approved.
Qian Xuesen gave an unexpected answer: "I plan to return to China."
This response unsettled the FBI. Just two days later, on June 19, they returned to Qian Xuesen's office. However, what greeted them was a written statement that Qian Xuesen had prepared in advance.
"In the past decade or so, I have indeed been a welcomed guest. I take pride in this and can honestly say, without exaggeration, that I believe my presence has been beneficial for both parties, especially during World War II. Whether during or after the war, I have made significant contributions to the scientific development of this country. However, now that initial welcome has vanished, and a cloud of suspicion hangs over me. The only gentlemanly thing left for me to do is to leave."
"There's no place for me here; there will be a place for me elsewhere. Let's go!"
No one could have anticipated that Qian Xuesen would be so resolute.
He wasn't just making empty threats. After issuing this statement, Qian Xuesen began actively preparing to return home, including booking flights and checking in his luggage.
Additionally, under the arrangement of the academy, he was set to fly to Washington on August 23 to attend his hearing appeal.
If the appeal was successful, he would regain his revoked classified research license.
This opportunity was secured by his employer, the California Institute of Technology. The institute did not want to lose such a valuable talent; they hoped that if the misunderstanding was clarified and everything returned to normal, perhaps Qian Xuesen would reconsider and continue his tenure at Caltech.
However, Qian Xuesen was not particularly concerned about that. He just wanted to resolve this mess as quickly as possible and return home.
At the end of July, he hired a moving company to help ship his belongings back to China.
In late August, the moving company's manager and a team went first to his home and then to his office, packing the items Qian Xuesen had organized into waterproof boxes before taking them back to the company's warehouse for shipping.
Upon seeing what Qian Xuesen intended to take with him, the manager's first impression was that he certainly did not plan to return.
Qian Xuesen was taking a piano, furniture, dishes, bedding, books, a desk, a radio, and a dishwasher.
It was clear he was preparing for a long-term stay elsewhere; surely, people back in his hometown in China had never seen such fine things.
As the manager contemplated this, he directed his staff to transport the items back to the warehouse and began packing according to the client's wishes.
The next day, the person in charge of packing nervously approached him with a report that left them all at a loss: their seemingly wholesome client might very well be a Chinese spy!
They had discovered that among the items Qian Xuesen intended to take back to China were documents marked with terms like "Internal" and "Top Secret."
Although those documents appeared as incomprehensible as ancient texts to them, during a time when "class struggle" was the guiding principle, every American was on high alert for any signs of espionage. The best course of action, as everyone knew, was to report it.
On August 21, the manager reported the situation to Los Angeles Customs. That afternoon, customs officials arrived, not just from customs but also agents from the FBI, Naval Intelligence Office, Air Force Intelligence Department, Army Ordnance Department, and State Council came in full force.
They examined the materials, which were packed in eight large boxes covering fields such as atomic energy, rockets, missiles, and jet propulsion.
To be honest, they didn’t fully understand what those advanced technologies entailed or how classified they were, nor could they grasp the potential consequences. All they could comprehend were the few words warning of confidentiality on the covers.
But that was enough.
The inspectors reached a consensus on-site: these documents were crucial! They must not be returned to Qian Xuesen and should remain under their control; no one could access them without their approval!
After completing these tasks, the inspectors breathed a sigh of relief. They had nearly allowed Qian Xuesen to succeed in sending such critical intelligence back to Communist China, but fortunately, they had intervened just in time! With that thought, everyone broke into a cold sweat.
The intelligence wouldn’t escape, and neither would he.
Now, it was time to consider how to close in and catch this big fish.
Comment 0 Comment Count