Telling tales: brother of disgraced Chinese presidential aide Ling Jihua defects to US and reveals state secrets, says report

The younger brother of the disgraced former presidential aide Ling Jihua (令計劃) has reportedly defected to the United States and revealed some of China’s biggest state secrets – including those surrounding its nuclear weapons.

The news website Washington Free Beacon reported on Wednesday that undercover Chinese agents in the US had been trying to capture or kill Ling Wancheng, who was suspected of one of the biggest intelligence breaches of the past 30 years.

Ling Wancheng had revealed secrets involving procedures for Chinese leaders when using nuclear weapons, including the release codes for nuclear armaments and steps taken in preparing nuclear forces for attack, the report said.

READ MORE: O brother where art thou: China in contact with US over extraditing brother of disgraced presidential aide

Other secrets he revealed included details about the Chinese leadership and its facilities, including the compound in Beijing known as Zhongnanhai, which is the headquarters of China’s central government and also the residence of the most senior Chinese leaders.

This information would be valuable to US internet spies, specifically for cyber intelligence operations that targeted the secretive Chinese leadership, the report said.

The Chinese government has been negotiating with the US over Ling Wancheng’s repatriation.

The report said the defection of Ling Wancheng – a businessman and the youngest brother of Ling Jihua, who was a top aide to former president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) – occurred last summer after his brother was investigated as part of President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) anti-corruption campaign.

Ling Jihua was reported to have breached the Communist Party’s confidentiality rules and committed offences including stealing official secrets, state media reported.