NYT: Details Emerge on Decisions Made by U.S. in China Scandal
From the New York Times:
[div class="excerpt" style="border-left: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-right: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius: 0.3077em 0.3077em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Details Emerge on Decisions Made by U.S. in China Scandal[div class="excerpt" style="border-left: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-right: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3077em 0.3077em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]WASHINGTON — On the evening of Feb. 6, a vice mayor of a major Chinese city who had a reputation as a crime fighter turned up at the American Consulate in Chengdu in an agitated state, wearing a disguise and telling a tale of corruption and murder that has ensnared the Obama administration in a scandal it wants nothing to do with.
The official, Wang Lijun, sought asylum, fearing for his life even as Chinese security forces quickly surrounded the building and asked the American diplomats inside to turn him over.
Instead, after a frantic debate that reached the White House, Mr. Wang stayed until he could arrange for an official in the ministry of public safety in Beijing to come 36 hours later and escort him past the security cordon outside to safety — or, more likely, custody. He has not been heard from since, and is now under investigation for divulging internal Chinese affairs to the Americans. If charged with and convicted of treason, he could face a death sentence.
The information Mr. Wang possessed involved Bo Xilai, who was the Communist Party chief in Chongqing until last month and Mr. Wang’s onetime patron before a falling-out led Mr. Wang to seek refuge in the consulate, according to administration officials, Congressional aides, diplomats and others briefed on what had happened.
An excerpt is not going to do this one justice. The article is just two pages but there are a couple more twists and turns. The U.S. is mostly a placeholder in this strange tale. It serves as a reminder about exactly what kind of country China is, and just how dangerous it can be.
PB
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