back to article Cupertino man jailed for exporting tech to China

The founder of a Cupertino tech firm has become the latest to fall foul of tough US laws restricting the sale of military technology to China, after he was banged up for over a year. Fu-Tain Lu was sentenced to 15 months in the slammer after pleading guilty to selling sensitive microwave amplifiers to the People’s Republic …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And what was China's response when politely asked to return said tech?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Should have gone to Maplins ..

    Maplins Catalogue

  3. Scott Pedigo
    Joke

    Fu-Tain Lu + Fushine = Futile + Fu where sun don't shine

  4. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Should have shipped it to the UK ...

    then hand carried it over to China on a China Southern Airlines, China Airlines or Air China flight - straight to the PRC from Heathrow.

    Of course, using a foreign name like that was kind of dumb, should have chosen some more patriotic like All American Communications.

    1. Melanie Winiger

      Re: Should have shipped it to the UK ...

      China Airlines is Taiwan - but that's close enough now there are direct flights between the two :-)

      But seriously, I think this guy didn't have a good enough lawyer. I can't believe the technology was *that* sensitive.

      1. Tom 13

        Re: Should have shipped it to the UK ...

        I put this one in the same level of idiocy as a db admin who doesn't salt and encrypt his internet accessible PII.

  5. Tim Worstal

    It's not how sensitive the technology is

    It''s whether you bothered to get the licence or not.

    Commerce Dpt licenses are the lowest level of such licences. State Dept handles the more important ones (and a sub-group there the really important ones like enriched uranium etc).

    Pretty, much, phone up the nice lady, fill out the form and send it in for a Commerce licence.

    No licence, you're guilty. Goods go to people not on your licence? You're guilty.

    About the only defence really available is that the goods are readily available retail. Then you shouldn't need a licence at all although they can play games with that one.

    I speak as someone who has gone through the process for all three types of licences (Commerce, State and OhMyGodYouWantToSendWhat?Where?.....from memory, rad hardened chips for space rockets, nuclear grade zirconium and uranium yellowcake).

    1. Robert Helpmann??
      Childcatcher

      Re: It's not how sensitive the technology is

      My first reaction to this was that he was ignorant of the law. As it turns out, he is just paying the stupid tax. Regardless of our respective opinions concerning the law or laws he broke, it looks like they were pointed out to him and he went ahead with his plan to break them - a premeditated fail.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rediculous

    Absolutely rediculous in a modern globalized world. It's the same with the US's archaic encryption export laws. As if the rest of the world doesn't know how to encrypt stuff. Jeezz...

  7. James Gosling
    Trollface

    Maybe thats why...

    Apple pulled Google Maps, it would have made all those iPad/iPod/iPhone guided weapons far too accurate!

  8. No, I will not fix your computer
    FAIL

    The irony....

    15 Months for selling a bit of frankly commonplace tech to China, while the US government sells F-16s to Pakistan (sorry, who was sheltering Bin Laden?), about $5bn sales to Taiwan (even more than that to Afghanistan), I'm not saying any of this is *wrong* (by US government standards) just ironic.

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