Many Chinese Americans are vociferous in denouncing what they claim is racism in the case of Wen-ho Lee, the Chinese American physicist fired in March from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico for security violations and accused of being a "Chinese spy." Nowhere is the anger deeper than in the Bay Area, where Asian American scientists and engineers account for 70 percent of Silicon Valley's professionals. Shao Dan is on the staff of the Sing Tao Daily, a Hong Kong-based Chinese-language newspaper which publishes a West Coast edition in South San Francisco. She wrote this piece for PNS's New California Media project whose web site is <www.ncmonline.com>.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Wen-ho Lee, the Los Alamos scientist suspected of having passed American nuclear secrets to China, is galvanizing an outrage against racism among Asian Americans across the U.S.

Nowhere is the anger deeper than in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Chinese American leaders are demanding that if no charges are brought against Lee, they want more than vindication for a man whose career and reputation have been ruined. They want to investigate and prosecute those responsible, and find ways to ensure that this kind of injustice against Asian Americans will never recur.

Meanwhile, the government appears to be back-pedaling on the charges. Newsweek reported that the Justice Department security chief John Dion has urged his superiors not to proceed with prosecuting Lee because of lack of evidence. A day earlier, Notra Trulock, deputy director of intelligence in the Department of Energy who initiated the investigation against Lee, resigned. He told the Washington Post he did so after two Energy Department reports failed to support his position on the Lee case.

Former UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang-lin Tien, the first Asian American scientist appointed to the National Science Council, believes the case is now at a critical turning point and urges Asian Americans to demand a complete investigation of the Wen-ho Lee affair. "They need to know whether there were racist reasons why Lee was singled out, and make clear they won't tolerate it if there were," Tien said in an interview. Tien credits the outcry of the community over the Lee case with helping turn the tide of media coverage away from blatant acceptance of his guilt to a less biased, more open-ended approach.

Early in August, CBS's 60 minutes aired a lengthy interview with Lee in which he proclaimed his innocence. Shortly afterwards, the Washington Post ran an interview with Robert S. Vrooman, head of counter-intelligence at the Los Alamos National Research Lab, in which he charged that racism was the main reason why the Energy Department fired Lee.

Professor Ling-chi Wang, head of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, has been cautious about making any predictions whether Lee would or would not be indicted, although most Chinese believe the case to be racially inspired and indictment less and less likely. Wang wants the community to file a lawsuit on Wen-ho Lee's behalf and on behalf of all those Chinese American scientists and engineers he believes are the real targets of the government's anti-espionage campaign.

Once such a legal process has begun, the Federal Equal Opportunity Employment Council could begin an investigation for redress of grievances on behalf of Chinese American scientists and engineers, Paul M. Igasaki, deputy director of the agency, said in an interview. He said that although he had no firsthand evidence, he has heard that many Chinese American engineers have been asked "Are you or are you not loyal to this country?" -- a question which, if it is prompted only by speculation, is against the law.

One of the possible plaintiffs of a class action lawsuit is Hu Chi Min, a former physicist at NASA who was the target of an FBI investigation 17 years ago. While no charges were ever filed against him, the investigation got him fired and led his wife to divorce him. Now working in a Sunnyvale high-tech firm, Hu believes Trulock's resignation confirms his long-held belief that Lee is innocent.

If no indictment is filed against Wen-ho Lee, Hu Chi Min is considering filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of himself, Lee and other Asian American scientists and engineers, charging that the government has singled them out for unequal treatment. He adds that lawyers he has consulted believe there is a racist stereotype applied to these professionals similar to the racist profiling police use against blacks and other people of color.

Lester Lee, the first Asian American regent at the University of California, says for Chinese Americans to fail to take such action would be tantamount to insulting Wen-ho Lee. Lester Lee, 65, acknowledges that some Chinese Americans are waiting to see whether charges are filed; he believes it's better to take a stand here and now in Lee's support.

Former UCB Chancellor Tien agrees. While the public cannot know the privileged information Wen-ho Lee has given his lawyers, Chinese Americans should start a fund raising campaign to help him file a lawsuit. Tien says many well known Asian American organizations are now coming out openly in support of the fired Los Alamos scientist. Prominent among them is the Committee of One Hundred, a group of high-profile Chinese Americans that includes architect I. M. Pei, cellist Yo Yo Ma, former Delaware State Lieutenant-Governor S. B. Woo and others.

The Chinese American Benevolent Association is lending support. Some $10,000 has been raised and an informal committee has met twice to plan a legal strategy. Professor Ling-chi Wang said "Chinese For Affirmative Action" could provide leadership for such a strategy. The CFAA can pull together other Chinese American groups, move from an informal to a preparatory committee and set up a reserve fund.

Professor Wang hopes that by giving support to Chinese American scientists and engineers who have suffered experiences similar to those of Wen-ho Lee that, according to an old Chinese expression, "we can get back to the road of justice."