Chinese engineer sentenced to death for leaking secrets due to dissatisfaction

The Chinese Ministry of Public Security made a rare disclosure yesterday (March 19) regarding an engineer’s espionage case triggered by internal conflicts within a research institution. The engineer was reportedly sentenced to death for espionage. However, official information regarding the specific unit involved and the timing of the incident was not disclosed. There are indications that within the Chinese Communist Party, some espionage cases are secretly dealt with through execution.

According to an article released by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security on March 19, they cracked a case where personnel in a research unit privately copied and sold a large amount of national secrets to foreign intelligence agencies. A man surnamed Liu was sentenced to death for espionage and illegally providing national secrets.

As reported by China Central Television News, in this case, a man surnamed Liu, a research assistant engineer in a certain scientific research institute, held a grudge against the institution for not being treated fairly and not being promoted, thus he left the job. Before leaving, he secretly copied and retained a large amount of classified information, planning to retaliate and blackmail his superiors.

Later on, Liu worked for an investment firm, faced financial losses, and accumulated debts. He then devised a method to sell intelligence and evade detection processes, targeting a certain foreign intelligence agency and actively reaching out to them.

Liu purchased non-registered IC cards and several SIM cards, constantly changing contact methods, using multiple aliases to conceal his identity, and selling classified information at low prices using pre-arranged secret codes and phrases. Within six months, Liu traveled covertly through multiple countries, being accused of serious leakage of “national secrets.”

The article from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security did not disclose the specific name of the research institute nor did it reveal when or if Liu had been executed.

Commentator Li Lin expressed to Epoch Times that while this case may be genuine, the claim that Liu leaked information solely as revenge against his superiors may not be credible. There could be more complex reasons behind it, as the internal affairs of the Chinese Communist Party have long been plagued by discord and deceit, with many individuals having their own agendas. These research institutes are essentially units of the Chinese state, likely involving military research. These units are rife with corruption and internal power struggles, which could have led to the leakage of secrets.

There have been significant espionage cases in the history of the China National Nuclear Corporation. Former General Manager of CNNC, Kang Rixin, was dismissed from the Communist Party in October 2010 due to serious economic crimes, including suspected grey transactions in nuclear project tenders and misappropriation of public funds for stock speculation, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He had previously served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and as a member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

However, Maj. Gen. Jin Yinan, a professor at the National Defense University of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, revealed in a speech that Kang Rixin was involved in a spy case. He stated that Kang Rixin sold Chinese nuclear material intelligence to foreign countries. After Kang’s issues surfaced, the central authorities became highly nervous and demanded a thorough investigation, but externally, they could only cite “economic issues” because other reasons were not suitable for disclosure.

Recently, the Chinese Communist Party has been continuing its crackdown on military industries, with many experts falling from grace, such as Wang Xiaojun, former director of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and Xiao Longxu, former chief engineer of the Rocket Force Equipment Research Institute. After being stripped of their positions as political advisers, their subsequent fates remain uncertain.

Independent commentator Du Zheng wrote an article in Taiwan’s United Daily News on March 8, stating that “internal handling” is currently prevalent in the CCP official circles, with many individuals facing secret trials and even executions for espionage charges. The article also mentioned some cases where individuals were secretly sentenced to death for espionage.