“Wang obviously is not a Chinese secret agent. Wang’s lies are grossly unprofessional and demonstrated an extremely shallow understanding of the Chinese intelligence establishment.”

Weng Yanqing — Former deputy director of Taiwan’s Military Intelligence Bureau

In November 2019, Wang Liqiang sought political asylum in Australia. Wang claims 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). Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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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.

Wang also claimed to be involved in the abductions of the Causeway Bay Books booksellers in Hong Kong.

Surprisingly, Lam Wing-kee, one of the abductees, does not recall meeting him and has reservations about his claims.

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.

There is no lack of famous examples of defectors who provided Western Intelligence agencies with the lies they wanted to hear.

Lockerbie had Majid Giaka whose lies during a Grand Jury were instrumental in securing the indictment and eventually the UN sanctions against Libya.

The Iraqi WMDs fiasco heavily relied on the nonsensical testimony of “Curveball” who eventually admitted he had made up the entire story.

I am not suggesting that Wang Liqiang should be treated the way the CIA handled Yuri Nosenko but I certainly believe that his allegations should be taken with a pinch of salt until his past can be firmly established. [1]

Intel Today would like to know what you think. Do you believe that Wang Liqiang is a former Chinese spy?

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Chinese spy spills secrets to expose Communist espionage | 60 Minutes Australia

REFERENCES

Wang Liqiang — Wikipedia

[1] On March 1, 1969, Nosenko was formally acknowledged to be a genuine defector, and released, with financial compensation from the CIA.

The harsh treatment he received as part of the early US interrogation was one of the “abuses” documented in the Central Intelligence Agency “Family Jewels” documents in 1973.

In an internal note at the CIA in 1978, then DCI Stansfield Turner, referring to Nosenko’s solitary confinement, stated:

“The excessively harsh treatment of Mr. Nosenko went beyond the bounds of propriety or good judgment. At my request, Mr. Hart has discussed this case with many senior officers to make certain that its history will not again be repeated. The other main lesson to be learned is that although counterintelligence analysis necessarily involves the making of hypotheses, we must at all times treat them as what they are, and not act on them until they have been objectively tested in an impartial manner.”

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Australia — Is Wang Liqiang a Chinese Spy or a Fraudster?