PRESIDENT AND LAME DUCK OF CHINA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
CHARLES R. SMITH
Plaintiff
V.
Serve For
GENERAL COUNSEL
ROOM 5898-C
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
14TH & CONSTITUTION AVE.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20230
Defendant
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE
UNITED STATES
MAIN JUSTICE BUILDING
10TH & CONSTITUTION AVE., N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20530
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
MAIN STREET CENTRE, 18TH FLOOR
600 EAST MAIN STREET,
RICHMOND, VA 23219
COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUCTIVE RELIEF
Comes now Plaintiff, Charles R. Smith, and hereby files a
complaint for compliance with the Freedom of Information Act
("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C., § 552 as amended, Charles R. Smith
respectfully alleges as follows:
1. This is an action brought under FOIA to order the production
of documents and records of the Department of Commerce ("DOC").
2. This court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 5
U.S.C. sec § 552 (a) (4) (B).
3. Plaintiff Charles R. Smith is a journalist and the owner of
a Virginia based information security company whose principle
place of business is 7707 Whirlaway Drive, Midlothian, Virginia.
Plaintiff, the requester of the withheld documents, is a
recognized independent journalist, as per written documentation
provided by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department
of Commerce, and is dedicated to the dissemination of accurate
information, protecting the lives, property and privacy of all
citizens. In pursuit of those principles, Plaintiff is
empowered to take legal and other corrective actions that will
serve the public interest.
4. Defendant Department of Commerce ("DOC") is an agency of the
United States government, established by statute and charged
with the responsibility of international and domestic commerce.
It's principle place of business, and the offices responsible
for the purposes of legal, FOIA and public affairs is located
inside the District of Columbia. The Defendant agency has
possession of the documents and records to which Plaintiff seeks
access.
5. Plaintiff filed with the Defendant on January 21, 1998 via
mail two FOIA requests in the form of letters to the FOIA
officer, requesting access to records within the agency under 5
U.S.C. § 552, FOIA, see Exhibit-1 and Exhibit-2. Access was
requested for all information with regards to Sanford R.
Robertson, Chairman of Robertson & Stephens Company, and Bernard
L. Schwartz, Chairman of the Loral Aerospace Corporation.
6. By letters dated May 4, 1998, Defendant ("DOC") responded
with materials applicable to the two FOIA requests, see Exhibit
3 and Exhibit 4. Defendant responded that an additional 22
documents responsive to the Plaintiff's FOIA requests were also
discovered but were being withheld for consultation with "other
agencies". Please see Exhibit-3 and Exhibit-4.
7. By letter dated, May 18 1998, Defendant ("DOC") responded
with a single document applicable to the two FOIA requests, see
Exhibit-5 and Exhibit-6. The document in question is from the
White House. Furthermore, phone conversations with the
Defendant's FOIA officer, Bobbie Parsons, revealed that many of
the remaining 21 documents currently withheld by the Defendant
are also from the White House.
8. Plaintiff begs the Court to accept Exhibit-7, a letter from
the legal Counsel for the Vice President, which asserts under 5
U.S.C. § 552, the White House is NOT an agency. This letter was
obtained in response to a 1997 FOIA request by the Plaintiff
against the Office of the Vice President. The legal Counsel for
the Vice President clearly notes that the White House is not an
agency as per the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 U.S.C. §
552.
9. Defendant's claim that White House documents are being
withheld for consultation with "other agencies" is false and
invalid because the White House is not an agency as per the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 U.S.C. § 552.
10. Plaintiff appealed the withholding of these documents to
the Defendant in a letter dated June 1, 1998, see Exhibit-8.
11. The Plaintiff has given over 60 days for the Defendant to
respond to the appeal, and has complied with all Defendant
requests to provide further documents, including copies of the
Defendant's records, see Exhibit-9 Defendant letter dated June
16, 1998. The Plantiff is in compliance with all provisions
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 U.S.C. § 552.
12. As of August 18, 1998, the Defendant has failed to comply
within the time limit and the Plaintiff shall be deemed to have
exhausted its administrative remedies with respect to this
request, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a) (6) (C).
13. Plaintiff has a right of access to the documents and
records refused, pursuant to 5 U.S.C., § 552 (a) (3), and
Defendant has no legal basis for refusing to disclose these
documents and records to the Plaintiff.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays that this Court:
(1) Declare that Defendant's refusal to disclose
records requested by Plaintiff is unlawful;
(2) Order Defendant to make the requested records
available to the Plaintiff,
(3) Award Plaintiff its costs and reasonable
attorney's fees in this action and
(4) Grant such other and further relief as the Court
may deem just and proper.
Respectfully submitted,
__________________________________
Charles R. Smith
Plaintiff
August 18, 1998
JIANG Zemin (Phonetic: jeeyahng) (3068/3419/3046) President (since March 1993); General Secretary, Chinese Communist Party (CCP); Member, Standing Committee, Politburo, CCP; Chairman, Military Affairs Commission (MAC), CCP (since 1989) Addressed as Mr. President: Jiang Zemin formally heads the three major sectors of the Chinese political system: the government, the military, and the CCP. Hong Kong media reports indicate that, although he has in the past acted largely as a spokesman for other policymakers he has recently taken on more substantive responsibilities and has improved his status among his colleagues. According to the press, Jiang has ties to senior party leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and economic planner Chen Yun. Jiang has endorsed the ruling elder's views on political dissent and pushed for greater political indoctrination and tougher social controls. He has long fought political opposition and was among the first leaders to support Deng's editorial calling for a crackdown on student protesters in 1989. More recently, he has played a prominent role in an ongoing campaign to identify and punish corrupt government and party officials. Although Jiang has backed Deng's open-door policy and has actively courted Western investors, he is generally not regarded as an ardent market reformer and has not pushed specific economic initiatives. Since Deng began his latest reform drive in January 1992, Jiang has publicly expressed his backing for the reform agenda. Jiang has spent most of his career in China's heavy industry sector. He earned a degree in electrical engineering in 1947 from Shanghai Jiaotong University. Chinese press reports indicate that he held factory posts in China during 1950-54. In 1955 he began a year of training at the Stalin Automobile Factory in Moscow. Jiang held a series of engineering posts after returning to China. By 1964 he was a vice manager of the Shanghai Electrical Apparatus Company. In the 1970s Jiang moved to the central government bureaucracy. From 1971 until 1979 he served in the First Ministry of Machine Building, which was responsible for developing heavy industry. During 1980-82 he was a vice minister of the State Council's Foreign Investment Control and Import-Export Commissions. Jiang joined the Ministry of Electronics Industry as a vice minister in 1982; he became Minister a year later. During 1985-86 he was a deputy head of the Electronics Industry Invigoration Leading Group. A member of the CCP Central Committee since 1982, he was elected to the Politburo in 1987. Jiang served in Shanghai as party secretary from 1985 until 1989; he was mayor from 1985 until 1988. Jiang was born on 10 July 1926. He joined the CCP at 20 to oppose Chiang Kai-shek. Jiang speaks English and Russian and can read French, Japanese, and Romanian. He is fond of literature and of Western classical music. He has visited the United States three limes, most recently in 1987. Married, he has two sons. 7 October 1993
LI Peng (Phonetic: lee) (2621/7720) Premier State Council (since 1988); Member Standing Committee, Politburo, Chinese Communist Parry (CCP) (since 1987) Addressed as: Mr. Premier Widely considered one of the most powerful members of his generation of leaders, Li Peng began a second term as Premier in March 1993. He dropped from public view shortly after that, and although official Chinese press statements attributed his absence to a cold, Li later publicly stared that he had suffered from a heart ailment. He resumed a normal schedule of meetings and public appearances in late August 1993, noting that he had fully recovered. Although Li has long been identified with hardline economic policies, he has publicly expressed support for paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s latest reform drive, which began in early 1992. He has claimed credit for the success of that renewed reform effort and endorsed price and tax reform and the creation of Shanghai’s Pudong development zone. Nonetheless, Li has publicly stressed China’s continued adherence to socialism, stating that a multiparty system would be inappropriate for China. In the months before his Illness, Li published several speeches castigating Hong Kong Governor Chris Panen’s proposed reforms, which he characterized as a threat to Chinese sovereignty and stability. Li was born on 2O October 1928. In 1931 his father, an early Communist leader, was killed by the Kaomintang, and Li came under the protection of Zhou Enlai, who became Premier under Mao Zedong. At 18, Li joined an elite group of Chinese students studying in the Soviet Union, where he remained for seven years. He worked with Soviet advisers during the early part of his 26-year career in the electric power industry. Because he was under Zhou’s protection, he was not purged during the Cultural Revolution. Li launched his national career as a vice minister of electric power in 1980 and became Minister the following year. In 1983 he leapfrogged several more senior leaders to become a vice premier. Li’s wife, Zhu Lin, graduated from the Harbin Foreign Language College and has spent her career in the electrical sector; she now heads the Beijing office overseeing the Daya Bay nuclear power plant near Hong Kong. The couple has a daughter, two sons, and three grandchildren. 26 November 1993
ZHU Rongji (Phonetic: joo) (2612/6954/1015) Member, Standing Committee, Politburo, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (since 1992); Vice Premier (since 1991); Governor, People's Bank of China (since July 1993) Addressed as Mr. Vice Premier A supporter of paramout leader Deng Xiaoping's economic reform program, Zhu Rongji is the principal official responsible for overseeing China's economic, financial and trade affairs. Concerned that the economy would overheat - he launched a mini-austerity program in mid-1993. As Governor of the People's Bank of China -- the country's quasi-central bank -- Zhu has promoted sweeping reforms in banking and government finance. He meets frequently with foreign businessmen and economic officials as well as other with visiting dignitaries. Zhu was born on 1 October 1928. A student activist, he joined the CCP in 1949. After graduating from Qinghua University in 1951 with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked successively in the Fuel and Power Bureau, General Affairs Bureau, and Mechanical Bureau of the State Planning Commission. In 1958 Zhu was labeled a rightist and spent the next 20 years in an obscure position in the economic planning bureaucracy. After his rehabilitation in 1979, he was to the State Economic Commission. He was appointed director of the SEC's Technology Transformation Bureau in 1982 and served as Vice Minister of the SEC from 1983 until 1988, when he was named mayor of Shanghai. He held a concurrent assignment as dean of Qinghua Univenity. Zhu was elected an alternate member of the Central Committee in 1987 and became secretary of the Shanghai CCP committee in 1989. He is now a full Central Committee member. In July 1991 Zhu became director of the State Council Prodution Office. During 1992-93 he headed the Economic and Trade Office, which absorbed the Production Office. In 1990 Zhu led a delegation of mayors to the United States. He has also visited Australia, New Zealand, and several European nations. Zhu speaks some English. He enjoys reading Chinese literature, watching Peking opera, and playing the huqin, a two-stringed instrument. He and his wife play tennis. The couple has a son. 14 January 1994
ZOU Jiahua (Phonetic: dzoe) (6760/1367/5478) Member, Politburo, Chinese Communist Parry (CCP) (since October 1992); Vice Premier (since 1991) Addressed as: Mr. Vice Premier Zou Jiahua, who retained his vice-premiership at the National People's Congress in March 1993, is an advocate of economic retrenchment. As one of three vice premiers who oversee the economy, Zou focuses primarily on long-term economic planning; for example, he helped draft the current five-year plan. Widely considered a strong proponent of central planning, Zou told the press in 1991 that "market mechanisms must take a backseat to economic planning." Since early 1992, however, he has publicly echoed Deng Xiaoping's efforts to revive reform. In a speech in May 1992 he praised Guangdong Province's accomplishments in economic reform and condoned growth rates as high as 20 percent as long as other economic indicators remain balanced. Zou, an experienced and widely traveled negotiator, is one of China's point men in dealing with the West. Since becoming Vicce Premier, he has visited Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Germany; he traveled to the United States in 1986. He played an important role in China's early efforts to acquire foreign military technology. During the mid-1980s, Zou served on the board of directors of China's Northern Industrial Corporation. Zou was born in October 1927. His career, like those of many of his generation in the government has centered around industry. After graduating from a Chinese university, he studied at an industrial university in the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A machine tool specialist, Zou held a series of positions in the defense industry: - Director, Beijing Machine Tool Research Institute, First Ministry of Machine Building (1965-72). - Deputy director, National Defense Industry Office under the State Council (1972-82). - Vice Ministry, National Defense Science, Technology, and Industry Commission (1984-85). Zou was appointed Minister of Ordnance in 1985; when his Ministry was merged with the Ministry of Machine-Building Industry in 1986 to form the State Machine-Building Industry Commission, he was named minister of the new organization. Zou has been a member of the CCP Central Committee since 1985. He was Minister of Machine-Building and Electronics Industry from 1988 until 1989, when he was named Minister of the State Planning Commission. He gave up that post in March 1993. Zou also serves as director of the National Safety Production Committee. In October 1991 he was chosen to head the Job Allocation System Reform Commission. Zou speaks fluent Russian and some English. He enjoys driving cars and is a talented calligrapher, according to the Chinese press. He is married to Ye Chumei and has a daughter. 15 April 1993
HU Qili (Phonetic: hoo) Minister of Electronics Industry (since March 1993) Addressed as: Mr. Hu As head of the newly created Electronics Ministry, which the Chinese press has hailed as a major step toward modernizing China's National economy and defense, Hu Qili has emphasized that electronics will serve as a pillar of industry as China accelerates its economic development. He stresses that this streamlined Ministry - - both personnel and departments have been trimmed - - should strive to keep the electronic industry's annual growth rate higher than that of the national economy; this expansion will provide advanced electronics equipment and systems to help develop other industries such as energy, transportation and communications. Arguing that military electronics are a key technology necessary for winning modern warfare, Hu has claimed that the Ministry will need to develop new technologies and new products, improve product mix, and broaden the market for electronics goods. One of Hu's primary goals is to computerize information on the national economy through three new programs: - Creating a public data and information network. - Developing an automated teller machine system that will use credit cards. - Establishing a foreign trade and economic information network that will promote electronic data interchange and end paper trading. Hu has regained much of his former prominence with his appointment to the Electronics Ministry, according to the Hong Kong press. Sidelined after he supported former Premier Zhao Ziyang during the 1989 Tiananmen crisis, Hu had been partially rehabilitated in 1991 when he was named a Vice Minister of Machine Building and Electronics. Hu was born in 1929. He studied mechanical engineering at Beijing University. At 19, he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and started working in youth and student affairs, eventually becoming a core member of the Chinese Communist Youth movement. He worked as president of the All-China Students Federation from 1955 until 1964. In 1966 Hu served as alternate secretary of the Communist Youth League under then CYL First Secretary Hu Yaobang. Purged in early 1967, Hu was rehabilitated in 1972 and sent to Ningxia Province, where he gained experience in party work at the local level while serving as deputy secretary of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee. In 1977 he returned to Beijing to work with the CYL and shortly thereafter was appointed its secretary. He became chairman of the All-China Youth Federation in May 1979. Hu served as vice president of Qinghua University in Beijing during 1978-82. Appointed mayor of Tianjin Municipality in June 1980, Hu subsequently became secretary of the Tianjin Municipal CCP Committee. He was called back to Beijing in May 1982 to serve as director of the CCP General Office and in September was appointed to the CCP Central Committee. In September 1985 Hu was elected a member of the Politburo and in 1987 became a standing committee member. Hu has made several trips to foreign countries. He is married. He speaks fluent English. 13 October 1993
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