Want China Times
Staff Reporter
August 5, 2015
Ling Wancheng, who also goes by the name of Wang Cheng and Jason Ling. (Internet photo)
The fate of disgraced former presidential aide Ling Jihua may still be up in the air due to a major bagaining chip held by his brother Ling Wancheng, who remains in hiding in the United States and is rumored to be seeking political asylum, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.
The 58-year-old Ling Jihua, best known as the political “fixer” of former president Hu Jintao, was placed under investigation for “suspected serious disciplinary violation” last December and expelled from the Communist Party on July 20 after being found to have violated political rules, abusing his power, accepting huge bribes and obtaining a significant amount of party and state “core secrets.” In addition, he was found to have committed adultery with a number of women and traded his power for sex.
While Ling Jihua has yet to be convicted by a court of law, an official announcement of this kind from anti-graft authorities in China typically signifies that his fate has already been sealed. Duowei believes, however, that there could still be developments in the case because his youngest brother Ling Wancheng is said to be in possession of so-called “core secrets” he surreptitiously accumulated over the 15 years he spent in the Communist Party’s General Office.
According to Duowei, Ling Wancheng remains in hiding in the US and is using the classified documents to threaten the Chinese government into releasing his brother. There are suggestions that the information in Ling Wancheng’s possession is far more sensitive and important than that handed over by disgraced former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun — currently serving a 15-year prison sentence — during his attempted defection at the US consulate in Chengdu back in 2012, and potentially even more explosive than the documents on US government surveillance released by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.
In fact, if the claims of seeking political asylum are true, Ling Wancheng could become China’s own version of Snowden, Duowei added.
Duowei’s assertions have been backed up by the New York Times, which published a report earlier this week claiming that China is demanding that the US government return Ling Wancheng.
Citing several US officials familiar with the case, the report said that Ling Wancheng may be in possession of “embarrassing information” about current and former officials loyal to Chinese president Xi Jinping, and that he could become “one of the most damaging defectors” in the history of the People’s Republic of China should political asylum be granted.
It is not doubted by US officials that Ling Wancheng is currently in the US, where he and his wife bought a luxurious property in the small Californian town of Loomis from NBA player Beno Udrih for US$2.5 million in September 2013.
Christopher Johnson, a former CIA analyst focusing on China, told the New York Times that Chinese leaders might want Ling Wancheng’s assistance in prosecuting his older brother, but more importantly, to prevent the “treasure trove” of knowledge he has about Chinese politics from being divulged to US officials. “The leadership would want this guy badly. There’s no question that he would have access to a lot of interesting things,” Johnson said.
The report said Beijing has been raising pressure on Washington in recent months to return Ling Wancheng, whose absence from a list released by Chinese authorities containing the names of 40 fugitives believed to be hiding in the US indicates just how delicate the situation is for the Communist Party.
The case is said to be further straining relations between the two countries ahead of Xi’s planned state visit to the US in September, especially after it was revealed last month that US officials believe Chinese government hackers had stolen personnel files of millions of US government workers and contractors.
As of now, the charges against Ling Jihua are sufficient to earn him the death penalty, Duowei said. While is unlikely that Ling Jihua will be able to escape prison from here, the severity of his punishment could very well depend on whether Beijing is able to get its hands on his brother, Duowei added, noting that if political asylum is granted the situation will turn from a simple corruption case into one involving national security.
