It's a small step -- to gather 15,000 signatures like collecting scattered seeds -- but a gesture that one Fremont group hopes will help ultimately grow and lead to a presidential pardon for Wen Ho Lee.

Lee, the former Los Alamos lab weapons scientist who was imprisoned on charges he took nuclear secrets, pleaded guilty in September 2000 to one felony count of mishandling classified information and was released -- with an apology from the judge -- after 278 days in jail.

But supporters feel he was wrongly accused of espionage and a grass roots, Web-based group has been gathering signatures on a petition asking President Bush to pardon Lee.

"I am learning from the Japanese-Americans who asked for an apology for over 50 years," said Fremont resident Cecilia Chang, founder of www.Wenholee.org, referring to the apology the Reagan administration offered for the World War II internment.

"We'll continue to get more signatures until a day we will get some president to agree to it, and I'm hoping it's President Bush."

Chang started her campaign in October 2000 after Lee's release from jail.

On July 2, Chang was busy printing long lists of signatures -- 15,000 in all -- that she shipped to Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, who had promised to deliver the package to the president.

Chang said her next goal is to collect 30,000 signatures by Labor Day and ship them to Bush.