The Cox Report is a controversial classified U.S. government document reporting on Chinese covert operations in the United States, focusing on Chinese spies' theft of design information on the U.S.'s most advanced thermonuclear weapons. The Report's name comes from the committee's chairman, Rep. Christopher Cox. It is also known as House Report 105-851. Several groups contend that the Report is overstated or inaccurate, but its authors and supporters maintain that its gist is undeniable. A declassified version of the report was released on January 3, 1999. A copy may be found here (http://www.house.gov/coxreport/cont/gncont.html).

The report's basic findings were as follows, quoted from the above document's opening summary:

"Overview Important Note: This declassified report summarizes many important findings and judgments contained in the Select Committee's classified Report, issued January 3, 1999. U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies within the Clinton administration have determined that other significant findings and judgments contained in the Select Committee's classified Report cannot be publicly disclosed without affecting national security or ongoing criminal investigations.

1. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has stolen design information on the United States' most advanced thermonuclear weapons. The Select Committee judges that the PRC's next generation of thermonuclear weapons, currently under development, will exploit elements of stolen U.S. design information. PRC penetration of our national weapons laboratories spans at least the past several decades and almost certainly continues today."

The government of the People's Republic of China strongly denies all accusations raised by the report and calls them 'totally groundless'. The later release of Chinese American nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, who was at the time of the Report suspected of being a Chinese spy, deflated some of the Report's accusations.

External Links

• PBS piece on the Cox Report (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/jan-june99/cox_report_index.html)
• A collection of short excerpts from articles about responses to and criticisms of the Report (http://intellit.muskingum.edu/spycases_folder/spieschina_folder/spycaseschinacox.html)
• Iris Chang says her work was misused in the Report (http://www.asianweek.com/060399/news_irishchang.html)
• Response to the Report by the People's Republic of China (http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/1999/07/chinacox/index.html)
• Cox Committee's rebuttals to criticism (http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~johnston/rostow.pdf) (PDF)
• A response to the rebuttal (http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~johnston/reply.pdf) (PDF)