Wang Liqiang

Wang Liqiang (Chinese: 王立强), or William Wang, is a Chinese defector to Australia and self-proclaimed former spy. In November 2019, Wang sought political asylum in Australia, claiming to be a spy who was involved in the People's Republic of China's intervention in the affairs of Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan (ROC). Wang's case drew worldwide attention.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang.
Wang Liqiang
Traditional Chinese王立強
Simplified Chinese王立强

Investigation

Shanghai police stated that Wang is a convicted fraudster who left mainland China for Hong Kong on bogus travel documents. Online court records appear to confirm he had received a suspended sentence of 18 months from a Fujian court in October 2016.[1] Wang has denied these allegations.[2][3] The factual accuracy of these claims are disputed, because, according to Alex Joske, the strategic analyst who participated in 60 Minutes's investigation of Wang, Wang claimed he obtained a police check which was clear of any such convictions when he applied for Australian visa.[4]

Wang claims that he was involved in the PRC government's operation to support pro-Beijing media outlets in Taiwan and candidates in the 2018 Taiwanese local elections, with the ultimate goal to prevent incumbent ROC President Tsai Ing-wen's re-election in 2020.[5] Wang also claimed to be involved in the abductions of the Causeway Bay Books booksellers in Hong Kong, although Lam Wing-kee, one of the abductees, does not recall meeting him and has reservations about his claims.[6] Lam Wing Kee told Hong Kong media that Wang was likely just repeating details of the abduction that he had “heard elsewhere,” dismissing his claim to have played any central role in the operation.[7]

The Australian reported in November 2019 that it had only took Australian security agencies less than a week to conclude that Wang "is not the high-level operative-turned-defector he claimed to be,” and that he "was, at most, a bit player on the fringes of the espionage community." The Australian cited Macquarie University China researcher Adam Ni, who pointed out that Wang got the name of the Chinese military institution that he was supposedly working under wrong four times in his testimony. His claims and credibility "should be seen with skepticism," Ni said.[8][7]

Sky News host Sharri Markson reported in the Daily Telegraph that Wang may have only been engaged in low-level work for the Chinese. The Daily Telegraph had also reported that Australian intelligence officials had briefed the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on a report witheringly titled “China Spy Farce”, with the consensus that it is “highly dubious” that Wang Liqiang, was the high-level Chinese spy that he claims to be, and while Wang may have been involved in “very low-level” work, he did not operate in Australia and would “not have value” to the country.[9]

Reactions

Australia

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described allegations of a Chinese plot to infiltrate Australia's parliament as "deeply disturbing". "I would caution anyone leaping to any conclusions about these matters. And that's why we have these agencies." [10] On 24 November 2019, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) confirmed that Wang's allegations were being taken "seriously", but did not comment on the merits thereof.[11]

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the reports were "of real concern", and that Wang might have a "legitimate claim for asylum".[12] Liberal member-of-parliament Andrew Hastie called Wang a "friend of democracy", and also called for the government to grant Wang's asylum application.[13]

James Laurenceson, acting director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney criticised the Australian media for pushing the Wang story too hastily without having it verified first . He stated “It is a fact that Australian journalists, commentators and politicians more hawkish on China and more invested in the ‘China threat’ narrative were the ones breaking the Wang Liqiang story and talking it up. The Wang Liqiang story is just the latest example of claims running ahead of an evidence base in Australia.”[14]

Speaking on national television, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg declined to comment on ASIO's "operational matter," but said that the Australian government "makes no apologies for the laws that [it's] introduced around foreign interference and foreign influence."[15]

Mainland China

Ma Xiaoguang, leader of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council, claimed that "the mainland never involves itself in Taiwanese elections, and these reports are complete nonsense." He further stated that whoever "made up" this story intends to meddle with the Taiwanese election unjustly and that he believed "Taiwanese compatriots will see this right through."[16]

The Jing'an Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau issued an official statement that Wang was a fugitive in a fraud case and that both his Chinese passport and Hong Kong permanent resident identity card were forged.[17]

On 27 November, Chinese state-owned Global Times released an "exclusive" court video apparently showing Wang on trial for fraud, admitting all charges, and given a suspended sentence of 18 months.[18][19] However, some critics argued that the video is likely doctored, because it appears "blurry" and "heavily edited," and features mostly the back of the subject.[20]

Taiwan

Wang claimed that he worked with the Hong Kong-based company China Innovation Investment Limited to infiltrate Hong Kong universities and media with pro-Communist Party of China operatives. On 26 November, Taiwanese authorities detained and questioned Chinese businessman Xiang Xin and his wife Qing Gong, executives of China Innovation whom Wang identified as Chinese intelligence operatives.[21] The two were accused of running a spy network directed by high-level members of the People's Liberation Army, Nie Li and Ding Henggao.[22]

Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang presidential candidate, rejected the claim and said if he had taken even a single dollar (from the Chinese government) for the election campaign, he would withdraw from the election immediately.[23][24]

Weng Yen-ching, former deputy director of Taiwan's Military Intelligence Bureau, said in an interview with United Daily News that Wang "obviously isn't" a Chinese secret agent. According to him, Wang's "lies" were "grossly unprofessional" and demonstrated an "extremely shallow" understanding of the Chinese intelligence establishment. For example, Wang claimed to be from the PLA's General staff Department, which had been defunct since 2016. He posited that Wang has already been turned away by ASIO, and is simply "putting on a show" in a bid to gain Australian permanent residency.[25]

Chen Humen, another former deputy director of the Military Intelligence Department, told the media that Wang's descriptions were "blatantly pretentious." Chen further stated that working in 3 jurisdictions at once, which Wang claims to have done, is a "major taboo" in the intelligence community.[26]

President Tsai responded that China obviously intends to interfere with Taiwanese elections.[23] On 25 November, she commanded that the Taiwanese National Security Bureau "begin an investigation immediately."[27]

See also

References
  1. Guangze Court, Fujian Province (10 November 2016). "China Judgements Online Official". China Judgements Online. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  2. Needham, Kirsty (24 November 2019). "China alleges fraud against spy defector to Australia". The Age. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  3. "China claims 'spy' who defected to Australia is a fraud". South China Morning Post. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  4. Joske, Alex (24 November 2019). "Defections are messy and we may never know the full story". The Age. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  5. "Chinese spy confirms China's involvement in Taiwan 2020 election". Taiwan News. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  6. "Chinese spy who 'infiltrated' Hong Kong defects to Australia: report". South China Morning Post. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  7. Grenfell, Oscar. "Australian media's "Chinese spy defection" story unravels". www.wsws.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  8. "Beijing 'spy' a bit player at best". www.theaustralian.com.au. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  9. "China Spy Farce: agencies 'highly dubious' on Wang Liqiang's espionage claims". news.com.au — Australia’s #1 news site. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  10. McCulloch, Katina Curtis and Daniel (25 November 2019). "Chinese spy claims deeply disturbing to PM". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  11. Sakkal, Paul; McKenzie, Nick (24 November 2019). "ASIO chief confirms Chinese spy claims are being 'taken seriously'". The Age. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  12. McGowan, Michael (23 November 2019). "Defecting Chinese spy who revealed espionage in Australia has 'legitimate claim for asylum', Labor says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  13. Sakkal, Paul; McKenzie, Nick (23 November 2019). "'Let him stay': Influential Liberal MP urges asylum for Chinese defector". The Age. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  14. "Was Australia too eager to believe claims of self-proclaimed Chinese spy?". South China Morning Post. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  15. "Embassy dismisses 'fraudster' spy who claims China ordered assassinations on Australian soil". ABC News. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  16. 中國「間諜」王立強 叛逃與詐騙的對立說法. BBC Chinese (in Chinese). 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  17. 上海公安指王立強是詐騙犯 | Australia Chinese Daily 澳洲新聞. Australia Chinese Daily (in Chinese). 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  18. "Video shows Chinese 'spy' who defected to Australia in court". France 24. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  19. "Self-proclaimed Chinese spy confesses to fraud involving $17,000, court video shows – Global Times". Global Times. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  20. 官媒公布王立强诈骗庭审录像 真实性受怀疑. Radio Free Asia (in Chinese). Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  21. Bachelard, Michael (26 November 2019). "Taiwan detains alleged agent identified in Australian reports, calls China 'enemy of democracy'". The Age. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  22. "向心背後指揮者 指向中國第一位女中將聶力" [Those directing Xiang Xin: China's first female middle-general Nie Li is implicated] (in Taiwanese Mandarin). FTV News. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  23. 被指收中共 2 千萬人民幣 韓國瑜：有拿 1 塊錢我立即退選. Stand News (in Chinese). Hong Kong. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  24. Ming Xuan 明轩 (13 December 2019). "澳智库深挖向心关系网 再曝多名军方背景新人" [Australian think tank digs up Xiang Xin's network: another shocking discovery of new people with military backgrounds] (in Taiwanese Mandarin). New Tang Dynasty Television. Retrieved 13 May 2020.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  25. Cheng Jia-wen. 獨家訪問／前軍情局副局長：王立強從頭到尾在瞎扯. United Daily News (in Chinese). Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  26. 24歲當上特工「鬼扯淡」10漏洞可疑 陳虎門：沒可能跨台港澳做諜報 ｜ 蘋果新聞網 ｜ 蘋果日報. Apple Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  27. 〈獨家〉蔡英文下令行動 國安局抵達澳洲查王立強案. Next Magazine TW (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 November 2019.
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