Wei Jang Lee, a young Chinese computer scientist working for the government infuriated Beijing by releasing information on the Chinese government’s constant and intrusive surveillance of their own people. Lee had secretly working with Taiwanese news reporter Joey Kang. Kang has been a thorn in the side of Beijing for a number of years, publishing on heavy handed attempts by the Chinese government to keep information from their citizens. He is probably best known for his defense of Lee Jun Deng, a Chinese soldier who released videos of army aggression and war crimes in Tibet. Incredibly Deng was able to release video of a Chinese missile hitting a Tibetan wedding party, killing the bride and groom along with twenty guests. Deng has been hailed as a hero in the Western press but was declared a traitor by the Chinese government and is currently undergoing what many consider a show trial with the outcome a foregone conclusion.
Lee was considered something of a prodigy by the Chinese government. A high school dropout he was hired by the government to design computer protocols for some of their most sensitive information. Witnessing Chinese government intrusions into phone calls and especially Internet communications of almost all citizens Lee made the daring decision to go public with what he felt were terrible wrongs by the Chinese government in the name of “national security.” Lee contacted Joey Kang, who along with his paper the Taiwan Daily Press made sure the documents were authentic. Kang arranged for Lee to fly to the United States as the initial articles were being released fearing that he might suffer the same fate as Deng if he remained within the reach of Beijing. Once in the United States Lee met with the editors of the New York Times also sharing information he was able to gather about Chinese surveillance of millions of American citizens through their cell phones and Internet activity. American citizens became apoplectic at the revelations with John McCain taking to the Senate floor and suggesting that the United States bomb Chinese satellite installations in retaliation. President Obama urged calm but agreed that Lee was a hero not only to his country but to the world. A future plan to the White House has been planned and NYU has offered Lee a place in the International Computing program.
Meanwhile the Chinese government is furious with Lee and demanded that the United States hand him over immediately. They have labeled Lee a spy and a danger to the People’s Republic of China. They also denounced Joey Kang as a charlatan who has a long history of trying to hurt the Beijing government based on his own agenda. At first Beijing denied all of Lee’s charges, but as more documents have dribbled out they have taken to attacking Lee as nothing more than a publicity hound. The papers in China have delved deeply into his personal life and have back Beijing’s claim that Lee is nothing more than a publicity seeking spy who wants to hurt China for his own reasons.
There is a tense standoff as Beijing continues to demand the United States government hand over Lee. Eric Cantor has introduced a bill in Congress that would immediately make Lee a U.S. citizen and immune to any persecution from China. He has 120 Republican and Democratic co-sponsors. Lee will appear on all the Sunday morning shows along with John McCain. The New York Times has urged the Chinese press to finally stand up to their government and protect the citizens of China. There is no way to know where this story will go.
Of course none of this is real – unless you change some names.