Hawaii
US district judge in Hawaii sentences ex-CIA officer to prison for spying for China
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A former Central Intelligence Officer was sentenced Wednesday to federal prison for conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information for China.
Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson sentenced 71-year-old Alexander Yuk Ching Ma — who had pleaded guilty in May — to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 until 1989.
He was arrested in 2020 on charges of spying and selling state secrets to China.
Ma admitted that in 2001, over a decade after he resigned from the CIA, he and a relative met with Chinese intelligence officers in a Hong Kong hotel room to provide them with “a large volume of classified U.S. national defense information.”
In exchange, they were handed $50,000 in cash.
He subsequently served as a linguist for the FBI in Honolulu. The FBI was aware of Ma’s ties to Chinese intelligence officers and hired him as part of an investigation, monitoring his activities and contacts.
“This sentence demonstrates the dedication of the United States to protect itself from this type of betrayal and violation of trust,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “Let it be a message to anyone else thinking of doing the same. No matter how long it takes, or how much time passes, you will be brought to justice.”
The government said Ma’s role involved facilitating classified CIA information — obtained from 1967 to 1983 — between his relative and Chinese intelligence officers.
“Despite his sworn oath to protect U.S. classified secrets from illegal disclosure, Alexander Ma chose to betray his oath for money while aiding the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors.
“Bringing Alexander Ma to justice, even after the passage of many years, affirms our commitment to holding accountable those who violate our nation’s trust and security.”
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 5-7 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||
| Winds | East winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||||
|
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| Weather | Partly sunny. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the upper 70s. | |||||
| Winds | East winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
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| Sunrise | 6:37 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:27 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly cloudy. Hazy. |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||||
| Winds | West winds around 5 mph early in the afternoon, becoming light and variable. |
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|
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| Weather | Partly sunny. Hazy. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the mid 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Light and variable winds, becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
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| Sunrise | 6:41 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:31 PM HST. | ||||||||
The current moderate northwest swell will continue a gradual decline through Thursday. A small west-northwest swell will arrive on Friday and hold through the weekend, followed by a small north-northwest swell early next week. Choppy east shore surf will build to near seasonal average by Wednesday as trade winds strengthen over and east of the islands. Little change is expected along east facing shores through the weekend, followed by a possible decline early next week if winds veer southerly. Surf along south facing shores will remain small to tiny through the weekend, and some islands may an increase in choppy surf if southerly winds develop early next week.
NORTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the early morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions move in during the morning hours with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi glassy in the morning with N winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting WNW 5-10mph.
SOUTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NE winds 10-15mph. This becomes Sideshore texture/chop for the afternoon.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
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