Claims that Wendi Deng Murdoch was a spy fuel debate in China as state-run media responds
Nationalist tabloid puts allegations down to ‘American paranoia’ but social media users aren’t convinced
A report that US intelligence officials warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, that Wendi Deng Murdoch could be trying to use their friendship to further Chinese government interests has stirred debate in China over whether or not she was a spy.
The Wall Street Journal, which is blocked in mainland China, reported the allegation on Monday. US officials were also worried the Chinese-American businesswoman and ex-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch was lobbying for a US$100 million Chinese-funded garden project in Washington near the White House, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
State-run nationalist tabloid Global Times was one of the most prominent defenders of Deng Murdoch, dismissing the allegations as “American paranoia” on its official Weibo account, China’s version of Twitter, on Wednesday.
But not everyone is convinced with that narrative. One Weibo user, Wang Zhan, pointed out that Michael Wolff – author of bestseller Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House and biographer of Rupert Murdoch – tweeted that Murdoch had repeatedly claimed since their divorce that Deng Murdoch was a Chinese spy and had been throughout their marriage.
Wang questioned how it was that Global Times and its editor-in-chief Hu Xijin had access to classified information on who was involved in Chinese espionage activities.
