Chinese state security organs unveil retired official's plot to subvert state power

Global Times

Source:Global Times Published: 2020/4/16 14:11:13

China's Ministry of State Security has revealed a series of major cases threatening the country's security including one involving a retired official who reached out to foreign enemy forces and plotted to stage terrorist activities in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, to subvert state power.

The case was one of a batch of typical major criminal cases harming the national security in key fields such as political, military and science and technology, and was revealed to raise awareness of national security issues on the country's fifth National Security Education Day on Wednesday.

According to China's state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday, citing materials provided by the state security ministry's publicity department, the retired official, surnamed Su, who worked in a school in Yunnan Province, had posted several anti-government articles online and came to know some key members of an overseas enemy force in 2016. When a key member of this enemy force came to China, he and Su plotted to subvert state power.

Su's gang first planned to purchase weapons from overseas, then hired "die hard soldiers" to attack the Kunming public security bureau and take over a local military ammunition base. Su had planned to promote his political views online after pulling off the plot, and would flee overseas in the event of failure.

Su's evil plot was foiled in its planning stages by state security organs, as he had left a trail of clues online by using multiple WeChat groups to coordinate the gang and discuss funding and details of weapons.

Su was convicted of the crime of subverting state power in April 2019 in a court in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, where he confessed to his illegal acts.

The Ministry of State Security also disclosed cases of defections involving personnel related to state secrets.

Wang Pihong, formerly a deputy chief designer from an aviation research institution in China, had participated in a number of national key secret projects. His wife, Zhao Ruqin, was also with the same institute, and also involved in key state projects.

The couple had the knowledge of state secrets and had been planning to migrate to a Western country. They forged fake materials, applied for personal passports and took a holiday in 2002 to move to the country with their child, and obtained the nationality of the destination country by 2005.

The Wangs had been on the state security organ's radar after their disappearance, and a probe found that Wang was working in the same line of business in this foreign country, posing major threats to China's military and science and technology security.

Wang and his wife were arrested in November 2017 when the couple returned to China to visit their family.

CCTV also disclosed the case of Zhang Jiange, a Chinese military engineering expert who had been compromised by foreign spies.

The foreign spy agency made contact with him during an academic trip he took in 2011. A foreign spy calling himself "Jack" tempted Zhang with cash and promises of a good education for his child. Zhang had been found to be providing intelligence to Jack such as some weapons which were not yet commissioned into service, development direction and status of some cutting-edge weapons in China.

Zhang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the crime of espionage.