Chinese space firm investigates official’s alleged attack on two scientists
- China Aerospace Science and Technology Holdings says subsidiary’s chairman consumed alcohol before the incident at a dinner in Beijing last month
- Zhang Tao became violent after scientists refused to endorse application for membership of an international astronautics group, report says
The main contractor to China’s space programme is investigating claims that the chairman of one of its subsidiaries assaulted two scientists over membership of an international astronautics organisation.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Holdings said on Sunday that the company was taking the matter seriously and the official at China Aerospace Investment Holdings had been suspended.
It said Zhang Tao had consumed alcohol before the attack.
The statement posted on Weibo came after China News Weekly reported on Saturday that China Aerospace Investment chairman and Communist Party secretary Zhang allegedly assaulted the scientists at a dinner in Beijing on June 6.
Zhang had asked the scientists, Wang Jinnian, 55, and Wu Meirong, 85, for a recommendation required for membership of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), according to the report.
When the researchers declined, Zhang allegedly became violent, beating and kicking Wang and pushing Wu to the ground in an attack that lasted about half an hour, the report said.
At one point, Zhang allegedly had Wang in a chokehold, according to footage of the incident obtained by China News Weekly.
Wu’s neck was fractured and required surgery while Wang sustained a rib fracture and various other injuries, according to the report.
Zhang had continued to go to work as normal in the past month, according to the China News Weekly report.
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Two astronauts step out of China’s space station, performing a spacewalk
China Aerospace Investment Holdings is an investment company managing 224 billion yuan (US$34.6 billion) in assets and was started by state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology.
Calls to the company’s Beijing office on Sunday went unanswered.
Wu is a Soviet-trained scientist with a long career in aerospace and is known for her efforts to persuade the Chinese leadership to open up satellite systems and other technology for civilian use, according to China Space News.
In 2013, she was awarded one of the highest honours in space science, the Theodore von Karman award from the IAA, becoming one of two Chinese researchers and the second woman to win this prize.
Wang, a professor at Guangzhou University, is a pioneer in satellite imaging in China and was a lead designer on a national project that developed a high-resolution Earth observation system.
Wu and Wang are members of the IAA, which was established in Stockholm in 1960. Wu is also a trustee of the body’s awards and membership standing committee, which oversees the election of candidates as members, according to the IAA website.
In a short profile on the China Group Companies Association website, Zhang is described as a party member and the holder of an unspecified doctoral degree.
It says Zhang, who became a deputy director of the association in 2020, has mostly worked in management positions.
