Harry Sheng
Harry Sheng's Story
A native from China’s Jiangsu province, Harry Sheng served in the marines of Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist army against the communists in the Chinese Civil War. Right before the nationalists lost in 1949, Harry Sheng left China and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. A gentle man who never missed church service, flew the American flag, and contributed his best knowledge to U.S. defense work as a mechanical engineer, he took one fateful trip back to China to visit his sick mom as U.S.- Chinese relations began to normalize. After he returned, nothing would ever be the same for him again.
Timeline of Events
1949 - Harry leaves China for the United States
1973 - Visiting Home
Amid normalizing relations between the United States and China after Nixon's historic visit, Harry flies back to China to visit relatives and his sick mother
12/4/1973 - Second FBI interview
Harry was interrogated and tested on the details of his trip. He believed his tour guide was a communist agent, but Harry didn’t describe his work in detail to either his relatives or the tour guide. Harry also stated that if his relatives in China were pressured by communist agents, he would report it to the FBI
1975 - Harry is laid off from Sparton
His two job offers are rescinded, and he would never be able to find a permanent position again. He wrote to his congressmen about his concerns about the FBI, which responded by claiming that their files have “no derogatory information on Mr. Sheng”
1977 - Harry files for a new passport to visit his parents again, and a freedom of information act to find the truth about FBI inquiries with his employers. The FBI responds by increasing surveillance, monitoring his drivers license, income, and tax records. His car was tailed, and his residence was put under surveillance.
Aftermath -
13 years after the FBI first began their investigation, an Agent states that Sheng is not a security risk. They recommend that Sheng is not reinterviewed and that his file be closed. Harry never receives an official explanation or apology. He would later move to California to live out the rest of his life, writing poetry and being known for driving at excruciating slow speeds. Harry passed away in 2011.
Significance
Harry Sheng’s story is another powerful example of the lasting consequences of surveillance. Although Harry was never formally charged, his life was completely uprooted in plenty of other ways. Despite holding a longtime career in the defense industry, the FBI investigations and inquiries with his employers led to Harry getting demoted and eventually laid off. Additionally, his two job offers he received were rescinded, and he would never be able to find a permanent position in the field again. His demands for answers went unaddressed, as the FBI claimed no ill will, despite their consistent surveillance and interference with Harry’s professional career. By the time Sheng’s case was closed, the damage had been done, and Harry would never receive compensation or even an apology or explanation from the FBI. Harry did everything right, from cooperating with the investigation to being adamantly anti-communist. He flew the American flag and gave his life’s work to the defense industry, but being a patriot wasn’t enough to protect him from unjustified surveillance against Asian Americans.
