The court in eastern China that sentenced John Shing-Wan Leung, 78, did not provide additional details on the espionage charges or Leung’s personal background, apart from his US passport and Hong Kong ID numbers and date of birth.
Cases involving espionage – a broad and vaguely defined charge – are usually handled behind closed doors in China, where the judicial system has a conviction rate of around 99%. The NACPU was designated as a foreign mission in 2020 by the Trump administration, which accused it of being controlled by the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department – a far-reaching arm of the ruling party tasked with spreading Beijing’s influence and propaganda overseas.
Leung was photographed with multiple Chinese ambassadors to the US dating back two decades, including Zhang Yesui and Yang Jiechi, who would later become China’s top diplomat under leader Xi Jinping. According to a 2004 report in the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, Leung was born in Hong Kong and studied in the United Kingdom at the age of 16.
He has led American officials and business delegations to China to foster business deals and social exchanges, and hosted Chinese delegations visiting the US, according to the report. The official, Wang Hua, praised Leung for his “positive contributions” to China and Jiangsu, expressing the hope that Leung could visit Jiangsu more often and bring more American economic and high-tech talents to invest in the province, according to a statement from the office.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: CNN Philippines - 🏆 13. / 63 Read more »