China says ex-military official Qian Weiping is not a spy, but might be corrupt
- Former deputy head of space programme unit is not being investigated on espionage charges, defence ministry says after newspaper reports his son is a spy for the CIA
- Inquiry instead concerns ‘suspected serious violations of discipline and duty-related crimes’, spokesman says
China has dismissed reports that a former senior military official involved in the country’s space programme is a suspect in an inquiry into alleged espionage, but said he is under investigation on suspicion of corruption.
The allegation relate to Qian Weiping, the 56-year-old former deputy head of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) equipment development department, which oversaw the design of the space programme’s telemetry, tracking and command systems.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that Qian became the subject of an espionage investigation after Russia’s intelligence department told Chinese military officials that his son was working for the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency.
Those claims were dismissed on Wednesday by Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian.
“I can say clearly that the allegations that Qian is involved in an espionage case are not true,” Wu said in Beijing.
“Qian Weiping is being investigated by the CMC’s discipline commission for suspected serious violations of discipline and duty-related crimes,” he said, referring to a euphemism for corruption.
