Defecting Chinese spy offers information trove to Australian government

[pangaia]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Wang “William” Liqiang is the first Chinese operative to ever blow his cover. He has revealed the identities of China’s senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong, as well as providing details of how they fund and conduct political interference operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.

He has given previously unheard details about the kidnapping of five booksellers from Hong Kong and their rendition to the Chinese mainland. His testimony shows how Beijing’s spies are infiltrating Hong Kong’s democracy movement, manipulating Taiwan’s elections and operating with impunity in Australia.

However, on Friday, former ASIO boss Duncan Lewis said the Chinese government was seeking to "take over" Australia's political system through its "insidious" foreign interference operations.

Mr Wang said he was part of an intelligence operation hidden within a Hong Kong-listed company, China Innovation Investment Limited (CIIL), which infiltrated Hong Kong’s universities and media with pro-Chinese Communist Party operatives who could be activated to counter the democracy movement. He says he had personal involvement in an October 2015 operation to kidnap and abduct to the Chinese mainland a Hong Kong bookseller, Lee Bo, and played a role in a clandestine organisation that also directed bashings or cyber attacks on Hong Kong dissidents.

Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/national/defecting-chinese-spy-offers-information-trove-to-australian-government-20191122-p53d1l.html?btis&fbclid=IwAR08NzleYCq-3fI-XHvbIfdS37Z-cYEZhenEpaW-YFEZn3EiXg8419bUj64

---

Much more at link.

This is a big deal into seeing China's world-wide attempts to control governments.

PARTICULARLY, China's infiltrating and disrupting the Hong Kong protest movement.

[dware]

1. It is my profound belief that Russia is not the biggest threat to the US,

China is.

The Chinese don't think in terms of weeks or months or even years, the think in terms of decades or even centuries.

[pangaia]

2. Yes, and the Chinese are much smarter and wiser than Russians in that sense...

They also have far superior cuisine, if I may so so myself.

I mean borscht? Give me a break !

[dware]

4. Much, much more superior cuisine.

I love Chinese food, ah hell, I love Asian food period.

[pangaia]

7. I was in Japan three times already this year, mostly Kyoto..

I have friends who KNOW where to eat. :&gt )

Same in Seoul and Incheon..
Same in Taiwan
And been all over in China... And cook Sichuan many nights of the week.. when I am not doing Japanese...
except.. tonight I had pastrami, matzo ball soup and babka, 2-Day shipment directly from Katz' Deli in NYC to Up-State NY !!

https://katzsdelicatessen.com/

[dware]

9. Sounds delish,

even my chihuahua's mouth is watering.

Unfortunately, my profession doesn't allow me to eat at the finer restaurants, something about not being able to park a semi in their parking lot.

They just have no sense of humor regarding big trucks in their lots.

[pangaia]

11. Lol... but, hey.. I LOVE truck stops when I'm driving on interstates.

I never eat at the usual chaibs. Applebees, 2hathaveyou...

[dware]

19. Actually,

in the last few years, the food has gotten better at truck stops, not so much the corporate owned stops, like Love's, Pilot, T/A, etc, but the independent truck stops, along with the services they offer for us long haul nomads.

[pangaia]

21. I like them.. plus the vibe....

BTW, what in the world was that sentence I typed--- "
I never eat at the usual chaibs. Applebees, 2hathaveyou...."

[dware]

24. 2hathaveyou...."?

Was kind of wondering that myself.

I love the camaraderie between truckers, and I've noticed a trend towards opposition against the Mango Menace among truckers, long haul, regional and local.

[tblue37]

26. "Chinese cuisine" is actually many different cuisines. nt

[roamer65]

13. The biggest threat is both of them. The Sino-Russian alliance.

Aka SCO...the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

[dware]

18. Yes, you are correct,

and until we get the Mango Menace out of office, take back the Senate, nothing will be done about it.

[tblue37]

27. Saudi Arabia, too. nt

[Beakybird]

3. That's it! No more Chop suey for me!

Seriously though, it seems like with all the forces of disinformation and greed - Russia, China, GOP - democracy has little chance of survival.

[pangaia]

5. LOL !

I have a number of good friends in China, been all over.. to more places than 99% of Chinese people.
Tsingdao, Shanghai, Shiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Kumming, Gulilin, Sanya, Lijiang, Dali.."Chengdu my Chengdu" is my FAV !! Love it....
And in all that time I NEVER came across 'chop suey.'

I mostly EAT when in China.... !!!!!!!!!!

I cook Sichuan most night of the week....

[DENVERPOPS]

29. What I find fascinating

What I find fascinating is that a very powerful train of thought/commentary has been turned into a barrage of people commenting on Chinese/Asian cuisine.

And everyone wonders how we got into this mess..........

The world wide tyranical mafia(s) are dividing up their territories worldwide....
Russia, China, Saudi's, Trump's Republican Oligarchs, are all scrambling to gobble up their chunk while the getting is good......Steamrolling away like there is no tomorrow..........

[pangaia]

31. I plead guilty. But I don;t think that is an issue.

My brain tends to turn often to food..



I always find it a happy topic among and during the world's ills.

And I can usually carry two thoughts at the same time.. often even of opposing views of the same topic..

[IronLionZion]

34. People rarely discuss Russian or Saudi cuisine

People here seem to like American Chinese food, which is completely different from anything you'd see anywhere in China or Taiwan. Early Chinese immigrants figured Americans would like lots of sugar and oil and they were right.

[christx30]

40. Hate to break your boycott, but:

Wake up
Grab a brush and put a little (makeup)
Grab a brush and put a little
Hide the scars to fade away the (shakeup)
Hide the scars to fade away the
Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?
Here you go create another fable
You wanted to
Grab a brush and put a little makeup
You wanted to

[erronis]

6. And the current brand of the USSR should be fearing their eastern borders

much more than the west.

China has a deep antipathy towards the Moscovites. While there have been some periods of "detente" these periods were mainly to show a front against western hegemony.

The whole eastern Russian area including Siberia as well as much of the trans-Caucasians are not very closely allied to the Russians. The Chinese New Silk Road is attempting to solidify the connections between China and middle Asia as well as eastern Europe. And I think they'll be successful.

[pangaia]

8. I agree. And---That Silk Belt and Road will definitely fly....

[erronis]

10. Not in this conversation, but I wonder about the indebtedness that is being created

when the Chinese (or, of course any other countries) come in and help with projects.

So much of this seems like the US predatory lending schemes (Goldman-Sachs and others) that have crippled nations - perhaps forever.

[pangaia]

12. It's exactly the same resukt, i think.

The chinese want the influence and psychological tie..

[DENVERPOPS]

30. Just look around open your eyes

Just look at the quantity of assets in the U.S. owned by the Chinese and the U.S. Debt paper that is held by the Chinese.....

And now Russia is coming in....just look at McConnell welcoming the Aluminum Mill in his state financed and controlled by the Russian Oligarchs.......Our entire military is dependent on Aluminum as a resource...........to say nothing of all our manufacturers who need aluminum.........

It's like the corporate raiders. Buy a company, sell all it's parts to the highest bidder, destroying the company and then just walk away with all the money........

Side Note: McConnell married to a cabinet secretary whose parents are Chinese Oligarchs.......

[roamer65]

14. Yes, that is why Putin is kissing Xi's ass and why Russia is a member of SCO.

[still_one]

15. The relationship between Russia and China

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/03/xi-jinping-has-embraced-vladimir-putin-for-now/

[ancianita]

16. Yep. It's one way either of them can manage to dominate this country in world affairs. Neither

being in NATO.

[paleotn]

17. Spheres of influence....

Hitler and Stalin style. US and the EU belong to Russia. East Asia and Australia belong to China. And unlike Russia, China is no Lilliput.

[pangaia]

22. I think South America and Africa are going to China as well.....

[Nitram]

20. We would do well not to underestimate the damage either Russia or China could do.

If Russia had succeeded in neutering Ukraine, it would have thrown Europe into chaos. China is making enormous inroads in the Pacific and elsewhere in the world. They are both conducting disinformation and intelligence operations in multiple countries, identifying and exploiting political weak points. China has more resources than Russia due to a strong economy and technology infrastructure, but Russia is much closer to the heart of western democracies. The only way to effectively combat this is through robust alliances with other countries. Trump, of course, has done his best to isolate the US and leave us without the connections we need abroad.

[pangaia]

23. Some of my Russians friends always bring up that the USA is as much

an imperialist nation as Russia was and wants again to be.
And I must say, they are right.

Of course most Americans would never believe that even if they could see it. And if they DID see it; if they saw, for example, a map of US military bases around the world, it would just be, "Well we are there to protect people." Well, partially true, but.... you get the picture....

[Nitram]

32. Yes, I've been seeing that "American bases circling Russia" meme for a few years now.

I don't doubt it was instigated by Russian propaganda outlets all over the world. You do realize that American bases on Europe are there at the invitation of European countries who asked for protection from the USSR and then the Russian Federation? I suspect the motives of anyone who pretends that the US imposed those bases on Europe the way the USSR imposed occupation and control on Eastern Europe for decades. Russia is making huge propaganda push against the US and NATO for obvious reasons. Without the US and NATO they would already have annexed Georgia and Ukraine, and there are independent European nations who know they would be next in line. Pangaia, I'm curious to know your background.

[pangaia]

33. "Pangaia, I'm curious to know your background."

Seriously?

[Nitram]

35. Yes. Seriously. I'd be happy to share mine.

I'm just curious to know how you came to your opinion that Russia is not a threat to the US and Europe.

[pangaia]

36. Well, I spent time in the steppes of central asia,

where I spent many a day exploring in the dark woods --always afraid I would run into baba yaga-- and my favorite meadow, where there was a little birch tree, took a trip down the mother volga, later traveled to moscow, where i spent many COLD moscow nights, drank the first 7 of many a vodka with russian associates one night when in leningrad in 1985, had a 'secret' rendevous with a beautiful young russian lady in a snow storm on the 'kisses' bridge, attended a concert in 2015 at the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory in which Vladimir Putin was in attendance, met with Valery Abisalovich Gergiev in.. let's see.. about 2017,

Still have close russian friends ----musicians, sailors, hi-tech, instrument maker, writers,

[Nitram]

37. Cheers, pangaia, thanks for sharing.

[ck4829]

25. K&R

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. China says defector to Australia is 'unemployed' fugitive

China sought late Saturday to discredit a man identified as a Chinese spy who defected to Australia with a trove of intelligence on Beijing's political interference operations in Hong Kong and overseas, accusing him of being an unemployed fraudster and fugitive.

The Shanghai police statement came hours after a bombshell Australian media report recounting how Wang Liqiang had given Canberra's counter-espionage agency the identities of China's senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong.
...
Wang was found guilty of automobile import fraud in 2016 and given a suspended 15-month prison sentence by a court in east China's Fujian province, the police said in a statement on an official social media account.

The case involved Wang defrauding 4.6 million yuan ($653,000) from a business partner, according to a court document.

https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/china-says-defector-australia-unemployed-fugitive-doc-1mi7x81

[ripcord]

38. China is the exact opposite of an international good neigbor

They are already ignoring a ruling from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea where the Philippines won a decision against China's 9 dash line. It is going to take military force to keep them from taking the entire SCS and we have a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.

Then we have the ongoing theft of intellectual properties and the overt counterfeiting of goods, 88% of the counterfeit goods seized in the US came from China, the rest of the world isn't hit as hard, the rate is only 80% in other countries.

And the worst thing is the concentration camps, China calls them re-education centers where they are holding and brainwashing the Uyghur Muslims, no one outside of China knows how many people are in the camps but supposedly they are integrating them into Chinese culture so they won't be extremists.

[pangaia]

39. Uyghur Muslims-- absolutely.--

Not so much integrating the Uyghurs into Chinese culture as infiltrating Uyghur culture by both encouraging and in many cases SENDING han chinese into xinjiang province , to bring "han" culture there, intermarry with uyghurs, etc...

same thing they did and are still doing to tibet..


guess that amounts to the same thing as the way you expressed it...