12-9-2023 (BEIJING) China’s top intelligence agency has unveiled a trove of new information this week concerning the case of John Shing-wan Leung, a 78-year-old US citizen sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage earlier this year. The Ministry of State Security disclosed the intricacies of his recruitment by US intelligence operatives, the fabrication of his false identity, and his role in ensnaring surveillance targets in a statement released on its official WeChat account titled “Prominent American Spy Captured in China!”.
Born in Hong Kong, Leung ventured to the United States in 1983, ostensibly to manage a restaurant. However, the Ministry’s statement reveals that he was formally recruited as an informant by an undisclosed US spy agency in 1989 and subsequently became a US citizen that same year.
Leung was enticed with a promise of a monthly stipend of US$1,000 (S$1,361), coupled with bonuses for providing intelligence. To bolster his cover, a fictitious persona was meticulously crafted to enhance his social image and facilitate his proximity to Chinese institutions and individuals in the United States.
This counterfeit legend included claims of having pursued higher education in the United Kingdom, occupying a position within the United Nations, and serving in the Vietnam War. The Ministry further disclosed that Leung was instructed to make charitable donations and contributions to US state legislators to enhance his public profile.
Exploiting this manufactured identity, Leung, according to the Ministry, engaged in attending social gatherings, festivals, and actively organized events for immigrant groups, all in pursuit of gathering intelligence on Chinese nationals and overseas Chinese residing in the United States. Additionally, he was instrumental in orchestrating encounters with targeted individuals in restaurants and hotels where surveillance devices were discreetly installed to extract information or trap unsuspecting targets.
In 2020, when pandemic-related travel restrictions posed a challenge, Leung, at the age of 75, was directed by his US handlers to venture into China. The Ministry reported that he utilized multiple identity documents to transit through Hong Kong and eventually arrived in mainland China late that year.
“Guided by several American spies, Liang Chengyun, as he is known in Chinese, amassed a substantial volume of intelligence pertaining to China,” the statement declared. The US intelligence agencies even awarded him a “Meritorious Service Medal” for his efforts.
The US embassy in Beijing has not yet responded to requests for comments on this revelation.
Although the Chinese Ministry did not elaborate on the timing of their disclosure, it coincides with heightened international attention following The Times of London’s revelation about the arrest of a British parliamentary researcher suspected of spying for China.
Moreover, in August, China disclosed details of two separate investigations into Chinese nationals accused of spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In the concluding remarks of the statement concerning Leung, the Ministry of State Security sternly warned that individuals associating with espionage organizations or accepting assignments via intelligence agents should anticipate sentences ranging from a minimum of ten years to life imprisonment.
