A Case of Mistaken Identity

Ma Jian, the former spymaster was jailed for life today for corruption

Chinese President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption continues with a vengeance. Today a former top spy chief was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of accepting 109 million yuan (US$15.8 million) in bribes, and crimes related to insider trading and forced share transfers.

Ma Jian was appointed deputy head of China's Ministry of State Security in 2006, in charge of counter-espionage operations. However, the crimes he was convicted of spanned a 15-year period, between 1999 and 2004.

Ma accepted bribes from Guo Wengui

After four years of detention was tried at Dalian Intermediate Court in northeast China, where he was also fined 50.5 million yuan.
The court ordered all of Ma's personal property confiscated and demanded the return of his ill-gotten gains.

During the trial, Ma confessed to the charges and said he would not appeal.

He received bribes totaling 109 million yuan to benefit several associates, including the brash tycoon Miles Guo Wengui, who is in self-imposed exile in New York City.

Ma is the highest ranking security official to be jailed since Zhou Yongkang, a former Politburo member who once oversaw the government's security operations but was jailed for life in 2015.

The ex-spy has the same name as novelist, Ma Jian (above)

One would think this story is straight forward, except that some media outlets have used the wrong picture of Ma and used the one of novelist Ma Jian -- who had trouble presenting his novel China Dream in Hong Kong in early November.

Both the former spy chief and the novelist have the same Chinese characters in their names (马建) which makes it all the more amusing and the latter has joked about it on Twitter:

"My children are puzzled to learn that I am not the author of China Dream, who has just made them seaweed dumplings for supper, but am instead a former spymaster who has just been jailed for life for accepting 'extremely large bribes'," he wrote.

Ma tweeted his amusement at being "jailed for life"

"This is a strange China Dream. Am I a banned novelist dreaming that I'm a corrupt spy chief, or am I a corrupt spy chief dreaming that I'm a banned novelist?"

Perhaps this is potential fodder for Ma -- the novelist's -- next story.

China's Soft Power Setback

China's Wang Yi with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Did China's foreign minister Wang Yi start the day on the wrong foot last week when he castigated a Canadian journalist in Ottawa for asking about human rights and the jailing of Canadian Kevin Garratt, who has been charged with espionage?

The Middle Kingdom's top diplomat lost his cool and started lecturing the reporter for almost two and a half minutes (including translation).

"Your question is full of prejudice and against China and arrogance... I don't know where that comes from. This is totally unacceptable," Wang said.

"Have you been to China? The Chinese constitution has written protection and promotion of human rights and China has pulled some 600 million people from poverty.

Kevin Garratt pictured with his wife, is charged with espionage

"Other people don't know better than the Chinese people about the human rights condition in China and it is the Chinese people who are in the best situation, the best position to have a say about China's human rights situation."

First of all, the foreign minister is on Canadian soil, so he must abide by the rules, which means upholding freedom of the press. Is he naive to think journalists in Canada will ask a softball question like they do in China?

Journalists in Canada can ask whatever they want, and apparently those covering the press conference agreed that asking about Garratt's situation was the most pressing one they wanted answered.

Wang could have just replied with a string of so-called facts for five minutes and then end the press conference. Why did he get so testy?

The foreign minister's rant revealed plenty about him and about China's irritation and insecurity about being asked about sensitive issues.

The reporter may or may not have been to China, but does that matter? She was asking the status on a Canadian in Chinese custody. What is wrong with that?

Wang lectures reporters about China during a press conference

China may have the second largest economy in the world, and yet it gets annoyed when people ask about its human rights situation.

When he says the Chinese are in the best position to comment about the country's human rights, he really is asking for it. Does he really think all 1.3 billion will sing the Chinese Communist Party's praises?

Some say Wang may have already been annoyed before the press conference, as the Trudeau administration had asked about the case. It was also revealed that Wang demanded an audience with the Canadian prime minister which is not the proper protocol.

In any event, Trudeau has expressed dissatisfaction to both Wang and the Chinese ambassador to Canada with the way the journalists were treated.

Perhaps Wang has forgotten there is a new administration in Canada, that has a different foreign policy from the previous Conservative one led by Stephen Harper.

I had hoped Trudeau would reach out to the Chinese government soon after he came to power, but it has taken almost eight months for the meeting to finally happen.

Trudeau will be lauded at home for keeping the heat on Wang, though there's going to be turbulent waters ahead in dealing with China...