CHILE.SeeALLENDE, SALVADOR; NATIONALSECURITYDE-
CISION MEMORANDUM 93; NIXON, RICHARD M.;
PINOCHET, AUGUSTO.CHIN, LARRY WU-TAI (1918–1986). An American of Chinese ances-
try and former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
Larry Wu-Tai Chin was arrested in 1985 for spying for the People’s
Republic of China (PRC). Born in Beijing, Chin was recruited by
communist intelligence agents while a college student in the early
1940s. Later he became a naturalized U.S. citizen, worked for the U.S.
Army Liaison Office in China in 1943, and joined the CIAin 1952. He
worked for the CIA’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)
and allegedly provided Beijing classified documents and photographs.
Chin retired in 1981 at 63, was arrested on 22 November 1985, and
was charged with carrying out a 33-year espionagecareer. At his trial
in 1986, Chin admitted spying for the PRC for 11 years. Following his
conviction, he committed suicide on 21 February 1986.CHINA, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF (PRC). Founded as a commu-
nist state in 1949, the PRC is now one of the major players in the in-
ternational politics of the post-9/11 world. Not officially recognized
by the United States until the early 1970s, the PRC supported its ide-
ological cousins, the North Koreans, during the Korean Warand the
North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. In April 1970, APNSA
Henry A. Kissingerestablished a secret intelligence relationship
with Beijing by presenting it communications intelligence
(COMINT) and satellite imagery intelligence(IMINT) on Soviet
forces along China’s border. The United States and the PRC estab-
lished formal diplomatic relations in the late 1970s, and the intelli-
gence relationship expanded to include, in addition to intelligence
sharing, assistance in developing the PRC’s own signals and imagery
intelligence capabilities. In exchange, the United States acquired sig-
nals intelligence(SIGINT) sites in western China to eavesdrop on
Soviet communications.
Occasional incidents have tended to mar the growing intelligence
relationship. One such incident was the forcing down of an American
P-3C Orion aircraftin international airspace in 2002 after it col-
lided with a Chinese fighter. Yet, the U.S.-PRC intelligence relation-26 • CHILE05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 26