CHINA’S TOP SPYCATCHER ‘DEFECTED’ TO U.S., UK PAPER REPORTS

Rumors are abounding that China's top spycatcher has defected to the US, amid a growing focus in Washington on the theory that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan laboratory, Nick Allen reported for The Telegraph.

Dong Jingwei, vice minister of state security, was reported to have flown from Hong Kong to the US in February with his daughter. There was no confirmation of the rumored development from either the US or China.

Dr. Han Lianchao, a former Chinese foreign ministry official who is now a pro-democracy activist in the US, claimed Dong had defected. Dr. Han, of the Citizen Power Initiative for China in Washington, claimed the situation was discussed by senior Chinese and US officials when they met in Alaska in May.

Nicholas Eftimiades, a former CIA and Pentagon expert on China, told the SpyTalk newsletter, which first reported the alleged development, that Dr. Han was "trusted for his integrity."

However, he said the suspected defection was “exactly what it is, a rumor." He said such rumors about Chinese officials defecting "happen all the time” and were not necessarily correct.

If Dong has indeed defected, he would be the most high-profile Chinese official ever to do so. The 57-year-old assumed responsibility for counterintelligence three years ago as China's top spycatcher.

Despite the official silence from China, the social media account of its top law enforcement agency, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, claimed Dong spoke at a counter-espionage seminar on Friday, cautioning spies to watch out for "insiders" who collude with "anti-China" forces and for “people who bankroll their activities behind the scene.”

China, with the help of Iran, crippled the US spy ring operating in the country between 2010 and 2012.

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