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News of Drama in China Consulate Reached Obama
WSJ ^

Posted on 04/21/2012 5:24:44 AM PDT by nuconvert

President Barack Obama was briefed on a former provincial police chief's overnight stay in a U.S. consulate in China in February while it was in progress or soon after it ended, a senior administration official said Friday, shedding new light on how significantly the U.S. viewed the encounter at the time.

The 30-hour visit to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu by Wang Lijun, who had just been relieved of his job as police chief, rapidly spurred controversy in China and came just a week before Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to become China's next leader, paid a visit to Washington.

-excerpt-

The visit set off an intense debate inside the Obama administration of what to do with Mr. Wang, officials have said, with the options ranging from offering him political asylum to handing him over to Chinese security officials. The State Department ultimately assisted Mr. Wang in handing himself over to central Chinese authorities so he could avoid capture by local officials loyal to Mr. Bo.

Mr. Wang hasn't been seen publicly since.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 201202; 2012election; boxilai; china; chinesepolicechief; chongqing; election2012; hakluyt; heywood; kenyanbornmuzzie; mittromney; policechief; wanglijun

1 posted on 04/21/2012 5:24:54 AM PDT by nuconvert
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“...a firewall exists between the State Department and White House on issues of political asylum.”

For how long?


2 posted on 04/21/2012 5:26:44 AM PDT by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Pong


3 posted on 04/21/2012 5:27:18 AM PDT by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: nuconvert

Given the amount of sensitive information he had access to, the guy should have been given the full defector package. Instead, he got the back of Obama’s hand.


4 posted on 04/21/2012 5:35:29 AM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: nuconvert
U.S. used to grant KGB officers political asylum. They were not angels. Feds routinely put mob figures on witness protection program, even though they are vicious criminals.

Obama regime should come up with better justification. Such as Goldman Sachs or Soros did not like it.

5 posted on 04/21/2012 5:35:29 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (The way to crush the bourgeois is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Unless you have support from a Congressman, your chances of seeking & receiving asylum here are very slim


6 posted on 04/21/2012 5:49:11 AM PDT by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: nuconvert
The visit set off an intense debate inside the Obama administration of what to do with Mr. Wang,

Why didn't they ask Obama? He knows what to do with Wang.

7 posted on 04/21/2012 6:02:22 AM PDT by liberalh8ter (If Barack has a memory like a steel trap, why can't he remember what the Constitution says?)
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To: nuconvert
Unless you have support from a Congressman, your chances of seeking & receiving asylum here are very slim

You are confusing asylees with defectors. Mid-level personnel have been routinely granted defector packages without congressional intervention. A mere colonel who was studying at Harvard was granted a defector package (presumably in exchange for spilling his guts) by Bush just before the EP-3 incident. This guy Wang Lijun was the assistant to someone who was one step away from the Chinese Politburo Standing Committee - the 9 most powerful men in China. Getting him on board would have been a major intelligence coup.

8 posted on 04/21/2012 6:32:48 AM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: Zhang Fei

You may think so. But I have personal experience with this.


9 posted on 04/21/2012 6:39:35 AM PDT by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: nuconvert
You may think so. But I have personal experience with this.

Who - in your personal experience - was denied a defector package? Was he military or civilian and what was his rank?

10 posted on 04/21/2012 7:00:23 AM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: Zhang Fei

civilian


11 posted on 04/21/2012 11:05:51 AM PDT by nuconvert ( Khomeini promised change too // Hail, Chairman O)
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To: Zhang Fei
This guy Wang Lijun was the assistant to someone who was one step away from the Chinese Politburo Standing Committee - the 9 most powerful men in China. Getting him on board would have been a major intelligence coup.

This has the makings of a very exciting Vince Flynn or Ted Bell novel (given the obvious UK connection). Especially, getting the "Wang Lijun" character out of Chengdu to "secure location" for debriefing, etc.

12 posted on 04/21/2012 11:41:57 AM PDT by CDB ("...the liberals' praise is a warning bell you must heed. Trust me on that." - Sarah Palin)
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To: nuconvert

So...Obama found it important to avoid access to a person with info damaging to the political leadership of the PRC.

I find that very disturbing.

And it’s very, VERY interesting.


13 posted on 04/21/2012 1:13:15 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: nuconvert
Mr. Wang hasn't been seen publicly since.


14 posted on 04/21/2012 1:19:30 PM PDT by aruanan
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To: nuconvert

Unfortunately, anyone around the world seeking asylum from communist/fascist/anarchist/califate regimes has to wait until our current regime has been replaced in order for the U.S. government to be of much help to them.


15 posted on 04/22/2012 12:47:42 AM PDT by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves.)
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