Where Weihan
Wo Weihan ( Chinese 沃维 汉 , Pinyin Wò Wéihàn , * 1949 ; † November 28, 2008 in Beijing ) was a Chinese biochemist and businessman who had lived in Europe for several years . He was sentenced to death by a Chinese court on charges of espionage in May 2007 and executed in November 2008 . The execution of the death sentence led to a diplomatic crisis between China and the Republic of Austria and the European Union .
Wo Weihan lived in Austria between 1990 and 1997. His daughters Chen Ran and Chen Di are citizens of Austria and live there. In January 2005, he was arrested in China on charges of selling "state secrets" to Taiwan . Specifically, it was about the accusation that he had made the state of health of Chinese top politicians public. He is also said to have copied magazines that were publicly available in the Chinese Academy of Sciences . He confessed to the allegations during interrogation, but retracted the confession a short time later.
Shortly after the trial began , the Austrian embassy got involved in the case. After a death sentence was passed and confirmed by the Supreme Court, the Austrian government and the European Council appealed to China several times not to enforce the sentence. The US government also campaigned for Wo Weihan.
Shortly after Beijing canceled an EU-China summit , the death sentence was surprisingly carried out. The EU Commission and Austria protested violently and spoke of a loss of confidence.
Individual evidence
- ↑ ajc.com: Chinese execute accused spy. ( Memento from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) November 29, 2008.
- ↑ Bloomberg.com: US Condemns China's Reported Execution of Scientist Wo Weihan. ( Memento from July 28, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) November 28, 2008.
Web links
- Outrage over Wo Weihan's execution , report with photo by Weihan
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Where, Weihan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese biochemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1949 |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 28, 2008 |
| Place of death | Beijing |