Apple Concerned Ex-Employees Accused of Theft of Trade Secrets Will Flee to China

[Cobalt50]

Once recent reason US universities enroll foreign students is because they pay full tuition. That is a lot of money. Another reason is because once they get a taste of our relative freedoms they will be more prone to dislike the present Chinese government.

But US universities have been enrolling foreign students for a long time and one big reason is because the universities and American business want to and have been cherry-picking the very best for US industry.

This has been going on for a long time. It benefits everybody. Sure knowledge leaks out sometimes. Sometimes the best go home. But theory and practice don't stand still. Cutting edge practices get stale quickly. Mostly we are not talking about foreign interests not developing something. We are talking about how fast or slow they develop something.

I'm not sure what Apple has that would be of strategic interest to the Chinese government. I suppose they could beat Apple to the market with an autonomous car. That would be a problem for Apple. Less a problem for US strategic interests.

A little espionage here; a little espionage there. It's business as usual. I wouldn't be surprised if the two Chinese "spys" are allowed to go back to China after being recruited as double agents.

As far as casting aspersions against "the Chinese" you better be careful. Many of the Chinese who live in the US and are long settled are refugees from the communist Chinese. Taiwan was formed by the nationalist Chinese who fought the communist Chinese. There is no love loss there. I doubt the Chinese communist government is held in high regard by the Hong Kong Chinese these days. In other words, there are a lot of ethnic Chinese who dislike the Chinese communists. It's smart to keep that in mind.

 

[hudson1]

1 china is not an enemy of the USA.
china is an economic competitor of the USA.
there is a world of important difference between these two.
russia is an enemy of the USA.

2 it is un-American to discriminate based on national origin or ethnicity. period. full stop. don't go there.

3 expecting apple to not hire chinese-USA dual nationals (holding passports to both countries) is not possible legally. and not wise from a program's development perspective. hire more of them!

4 however, in the near future, not solely based on these two incidents, i would expect apple to move towards a hiring perspective that limits or curtails hiring of chinese nationals (who don't simultaneously also have USA citizenship as well) from working at apple's USA based facilities.

5 apple does a HUGE amount of a vast portfolio of development work within the boundaries of china. its not just a sales market.

6 and very to the point related to these two incidents dealing with autonomous software: don't forget (or, as within china it is phrased: " A Warm Reminder"): apple invested over USD 1 Billion (yes, with a B) into Didi Chuxing which is the Chinese Uber which is working on world-class advanced tech into autonomous driving systems and how to roll it out in actual real world applications.
the results of that partnership and investment funnel into apple's spaceship campus.

https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/12/...n-chinese-transportation-service-didi-chuxing

I don't believe China permits it's citizens to also be citizens of other countries.

 

[digitalcuriosity]

The powers of main land China have total control over their citizens, our country has allowed China to have deep inroads into our country, the Chinese Government has as before have had people from their country to be spies and steal our countries companies trade secrets.

I learned this years ago while working in the Engineering Dept. of a small high Tech. company the Chinese who had bought one of our products, complained of a problem and asked for many detailed Engineering drawings and information about this product.

We quickly understood that what they were really wanting was our Design and Engineering for this product, with plans on doing there own building of it.

Sadly today we find that about everything we buy in now made in the mainland China.

I am thankful for the efforts of our President Donald Trump, for taking on mainland China and working to protect our country from them.

 

[BruceEBonus]

“Hey! Anybody want to buy a car with a GoogleMaps sized camera thing self driving roof rack car thing? Come on. You know you want one. Got the blueprints here. No. Really not a joke. Stop laughing. This is the future. You don’t want to miss out. Ok. Half price. But don’t tell anyone I gave you the plans, yeah? No? Ok. Watch bands? Come on now. Get your watch bands here. Super expensive modular computer rehash? No? Your loss, guys! Look. I know it’s old tech but the shares price speaks for itself. Who cares why people think it’s worth more. Come on ... ahhh fuggeddit!.”

 

[macguru212]

As a Chinese, I am super sad to hear you saying this. However, no every Chinese are like them.

I've been to China a few times on business. People are quite nice, but the Chinese government is oppressive as hell. Communism is not my bag, frankly it sucks. People are suffering as a result in China.

 

[Chaka Jon]

Build a wall in the Pacific Ocean.

*which sounds as ridiculous as the (supposed ) one being built along our Southern border.

 

[Strelok]

This kind of industrial espionage has been happening forever. Very often between same country companies.
if your life is enhanced by having “enemies”, then by all means you can imagine one in China, but actually this is just business as usual.

There’s a difference when the government gets involved like in China. Only in China can you blatantly copy a western companies product and “win” in court.

 

[az431]

Stop hiring Chinese nationals. Seriously, I'm amazed that Tim Cook and team are willfully ignorant to the shameless, brazen stealing of Western intellectual property by the Chinese. It's the cultural norm for them.

The Chinese Communist Party is only too happy to exploit this weakness in America's culture of acceptance and non-judgement. Stop being suckers!

not all 1.4 billion Chinese citizens are “spies.” It’s this kind of delusional and irrational thinking that makes the world hate Americans.
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If Zhang and Chen flee to China, what difference will it make to Apple? Whatever trade secrets they've memorized could be passed along in a phone call, and presumably already have. Assuming that the files and photographs were already recovered when they were arrested, those trade secrets wouldn't go with them to China.

under your irrational analysis then we should let all murderers out of prison since the crime has already been committed and the victim won’t become any deader.
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Build a wall in the Pacific Ocean.

*which sounds as ridiculous as the (supposed ) one being built along our Southern border.

it’s actually far more ridiculous because it’s easier to walk across an imaginary line on the ground than to travel across thousands of miles of open ocean.

 

[Wando64]

There’s a difference when the government gets involved like in China.

This is an allegation.
In fact it is your allegation.
Nothing in the article is suggestive of this being the case.

 

[Chaka Jon]

it’s actually far more ridiculous because it’s easier to walk across an imaginary line on the ground than to travel across thousands of miles of open ocean.

Not if you’re traveling by boat.

 

[jpn]

I don't believe China permits it's citizens to also be citizens of other countries.

hi
you are correct that china national law prevents this.
however china expects people who have emigrated to other countries to still have loyalties to china.
huge pressure both legal and social.
http://www.ejinsight.com/20160503-beijing-seeks-loyalty-from-ethnic-chinese-with-foreign-passports/

 

[ElectricPotato]

if your life is enhanced by having “enemies”

You almost had a reasonable point then you ruined it with this. You needlessly attack the poster and not the idea: ad hominem.

 

[jtara]

A statement like “China is our enemy” is a pretty jingoistic, unsettling piece of rhetoric: it’s a dangerous, dubious argument which people have used throughout history to justify many disastrous policies and conflicts.

We have each other programmed as targets for our nuclear missiles.

China is our enemy.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Yes

Then that's an incredibly stupid plan.
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Maybe the Chinese where just better qualified than the American applicants. China has very good education paid by the state. In the US you only get a good education if you have the money for it.

Right, that makes more sense than Apple trying to save a buck.
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Wouldn’t surprise me.

it would surprise me.

 

[jtara]

1 china is not an enemy of the USA.

If they are not an enemy of the USA, why do our nuclear missiles target them, and theirs ours?

Declassified target list:

https://futureoflife.org/background/us-nuclear-targets/
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb538-Cold-War-Nuclear-Target-List-Declassified-First-Ever/

Note that because this is quite old it includes targets in the former German Democratic Republic (DDR, East Germany) and other Soviet-era satellite nations.

 

[jpn]

If they are not an enemy of the USA, why do our nuclear missiles target them, and theirs ours?

Declassified target list:

https://futureoflife.org/background/us-nuclear-targets/
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb538-Cold-War-Nuclear-Target-List-Declassified-First-Ever/

Note that because this is quite old it includes targets in the former German Democratic Republic (DDR, East Germany) and other Soviet-era satellite nations.

hi
thanks for the info from 1956. quite interesting historically. appreciated learning all about it.

 

[jtara]

Last I checked to file for an H1B visa petition the employer has to prove that they cannot find an American to fill the job, and the pay is greater than or equal to an American worker who does the same job at the company.

Would it shock you to find that employers lie about this?
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hi
thanks for the info from 1956. quite interesting historically. appreciated learning all about it.

I assure you, Chinese targets are still on the list of targets and scenarios. And vice-versa.
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That is so blatantly racist

The Chinese government is our enemy. Not the Chinese people. "China is our enemy" does not imply that the Chinese people are. Stating that a government that is OBVIOUSLY an enemy (because our militaries mutually rehearse scenarios where we go to war with each other) is an enemy is not racist.

That said, many Chinese citizens ARE our enemy. Sadly, the Chinese government attempts to indoctrinate their people (ask any Uighur, if you can find one willing to talk...).

Please be careful where you ask, though. Falon Gong sometimes sets up a booth in a park next to the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. Busloads of Chinese tourists are dropped off and picked up there. They come to visit the Midway, take selfies in front of the Kissing Statue, and listen to a bronze statue of Bob Hope entertain the "troops". One thing they do NOT do is talk to the Falon Gong people. Because they are being watched. I have noticed the watchers.

 

[m0sher]

Imagine the damage China can do with our autonomous automobiles when they’re all running around America if they have backdoor access to be able to sabotage us to all crash into each other simultaneously at high-speed’s. :/

 

[Strelok]

This is an allegation.
In fact it is your allegation.
Nothing in the article is suggestive of this being the case.

I too can stick my head in the sand. I am worried that you think I personally am the one who came up with this though, because it’s been argued about before I was even born.

 

[RemE]

A statement like “China is our enemy” is a pretty jingoistic, unsettling piece of rhetoric: it’s a dangerous, dubious argument which people have used throughout history to justify many disastrous policies and conflicts.

I'm sure you are right, but let's watch what China does to Hong Kong, and how the sitch in the South China sea pans out... Time will tell

 

[NufSaid]

Fun fact. Did you know white collar and defense of intelligence is the #2 focus of the FBI?


”Just to visit relatives”
😂😂😂

 

[Wando64]

You almost had a reasonable point then you ruined it with this. You needlessly attack the poster and not the idea: ad hominem.

Well, ad hominem indeed. Your entire reply is a personal attack.
I mean, I cannot see even a feeble attempt to engage with my argument.

 

[HiRez]

How US government and military are at risk? Do they hire foreign-born workers?

Yes, they absolutely do. But the government also buys and uses a lot of tech developed by commercial US companies (satellites, facial recognition, robotics, accounting software, voting machines, plus thousands of others). All of that can be exploited by a government such as China (but not only China), which they are very aggressive about acquiring by every means possible.

 

[BeefCake 15]

I’m Taiwanese, what more do you have to say?

mic dropped....

 

[ElectricPotato]

Well, ad hominem indeed.

Just calling them like I see them.