The Drama of How Wang Lijun Escapes

What exactly happened on the day Wang Lijun fled to the U.S. Consulate is not yet clear; but speculation and comments abound on China’s Internet. U.S. officials are also leaking information about what happened, and a congressional investigation into the affair has been promised.

Wang is the former vice-mayor and chief of police of the southwestern China megapolis of Chongqing City, and was the right-hand man of Bo Xilai, the city’s Communist Party chief who is known as an ultra-leftist hardliner, and who has been wrangling to win a position on the Standing Committee of the Politburo, the group of nine men who stand at the top of the Party’s hierarchy.

Wang was unexpectedly demoted on Feb. 2 from his posts and reassigned to handle something else. On Feb. 5 he talked about the importance of his new job responsibilities at Chongqing Normal University and elsewhere. No one suspected that he would flee to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu the next day.

The following account of what happened when Wang tried to defect was first published on Weibo, the Chinese microblog service, by a user named Sun Dapao in ten separate posts. Sun’s account has since been blocked, but Sun’s account has been widely circulated on China’s Internet. Its authenticity is yet to be validated. 

1. On February 6, at 5:00 pm, Wang Lijun went back to his quarters. The monitoring staff reported that everything was normal. Then six monitoring groups were reduced to three, each monitoring group containing three surveillance officers. Wang observed for half an hour from the window and decided that the monitoring was relaxed enough; therefore he quickly disguised as an old woman and jumped into already prepared car. He then put a Chongqing Public Security license plate on the vehicle and droved off.

2. Driving near Chengdu, Wang then called the US Chengdu consulate with his cell phone reporting, "I am Wang Lijun, Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, and I am asking for political asylum". Thirty minutes later, at around 9:00pm, Wang Lijun drove into the US Chengdu consulate.

3. The U.S. consul general and several vice-consuls met Wang in the conference room. Wang immediately requested political asylum from the United States. Wang then provided incriminating evidence of party officials. Including photos of his subordinates being tortured to death and evidence of the prearranged death of Wang himself, such as committing suicide, car accident, missing or being killed during his escape.

4. After an in-depth talk with Wang, the US officials expressed that they, “Accept your application for political asylum, but the approval is up to Ambassador Locke”.  While waiting for possible approval from Locke Wang subsequently sent a message to his family that he was safe.

5. On Feb.7, at 5:00 am, US Ambassador Locke formally notified the consul general in Chengdu that the White House had rejected Wang’s application for political asylum, but Ambassador Locke could offer Wang some humanitarian aid. At 6 am, the US officials had breakfast with Wang and discussed other ways that they could assist. Wang then suggested that he would surrender to the central government, but not to Bo Xilai.

6. Wang Lijun further explained to the US officials that he came to the US consulate to avoid being politically assassinated. At 8 am, Ambassador Locke informed the Chinese authorities, who dispatched National Security Ministry to bring Wang Lijun back to Beijing, to start a thorough investigation of Bo Xilai and Mayor Huang Qifang.

Wang Lijun then expressed, “I accept the investigation from the central government. I would admit my wrong doings and also want to report the corruption of Bo Xilai and his family”.

7. Bo Xilai was informed at 7 am on Feb 7 that Wang Lijun had escaped. He dispatched Mayor Huang Qifang who led 70 police vehicles to Chengdu to surround the US consulate.

8. The news was then reported by Ambassador Locke to the Chinese authorities who were furious about the situation.  By noontime, the National Security and the provincial police forced Huang and the police vehicles from Chongqing to leave Chengdu.

9. Director of National Security Ministry Guo Qiang talked to Bo Xilai asking for an explanation at 3 pm. Guo reassured Wang Lijun that his matter would be resolved fairly and squarely by the central government. Wang Lijun then expressed, “I accept the investigation from the central government. I would admit my wrong doings and also want to report the corruption of Bo Xilai and his family”.

10. Between 4:30-5:30 pm, Wang Lijun talked to the US consul general and handed over some additional documents. He walked out the US consulate at 6 pm and was escorted back to Beijing the next morning by Qiu Jin, Deputy Director of the National Security Ministry.

Feedback from netizens:

Descendants-of-the-Yellow-Emperor: My fellow Chinese, how many of us still remember we are the descendants of the Yellow Emperor? The evil Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is a Far-Eastern branch of the former Soviet Communist Party originated from the rogues who rioted Paris in late 18th century. They worshiped Marx, who was a follower of Satanism.  The predecessor to the CCP is a sinister gang in Europe. Their flag is actually a wolf in `sheep's clothing’. They want to tint the flag with people’s blood. The sickle on the bloody flag represents death and massacre; the hammer indicates suppression, tyranny, violence, dictatorship and destruction. They are evil spirits from hell, mad wolves from Europe. Ever since they came to China, the descendants of the Yellow Emperor and the five thousand years of civilization began to suffer. Haven’t you heard they sang loudly, “I am sure that I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you are the fish and meat on my chopping board. You are the lamb in my mouth. I will ruin your life and break up your family. Yet, you still have to pretend cheerful and treat me like your own mother?” Unwittingly, the descendants of the Yellow Emperor become slaves of an alien power.

KZG netizen: Even though you don’t like, a private individual is still forced to obey the autocracy.

KZG netizen: This is the true regrettable sorrow of the Chinese society today.

Xiao-Xiao: Shameless rumors! Only fools would believe.

Lily: After all, you have chosen to view the issue from another angle. Why don’t you search for related reports available at the United Nations before you reprimand others?

KZG netizen: Live organ harvesting has occurred during the Culture Revolution. Yet, the scale at that time was far smaller. Medicine and evil seem to develop and progress simultaneously, e.g. birth control and massive abortion.

Where-is-justice: Let me send the blog again. This is a true story that I personally experienced. Around 2005, the father of my former colleague in China needed to have a kidney transplant. My colleague told me, “The doctor said the operation would cost 200,000 yens. We got plenty of kidney supply for you to pick”. At that time, I thought there were a lot of people willing to sell their kidneys. Therefore, I told my colleague, “200, 000 yens is not too expensive. With this amount and deducting the hospital charges, how much the organ seller can actually get? Why the kidney can be so cheap?”. Now, I understand. The kidney must have come from organ harvesting on a Falun Gong practitioner.   Otherwise, the doctor would not have said organ source was not a problem.

KZG netizen: There is a Hagens human body plastination plant in Dalien City, China. The corpse was processed into specimens for touring shows around the world for making profits. Among the specimens are a young mother and her 8-month-old baby. It is truly unbearable. Think about it! Who would allow the bodies of his family turned into specimens for exhibitions? What is the source of the bodies? Why the plastination plant is set up in Dalien?