Background
Chen had been a university student in Beijing during the pro-democracy movement that ultimately led to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Several of his friends were wounded in the ensuing repression by the government. He was said to have undergone political reeducation after the subsequent crackdown on dissidents, and joined the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. This culminated in his posting as the consul for political affairs in the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia. In this position, Chen has stated that he was responsible for monitoring Chinese political dissidents, especially Falun Gong, living in Australia. He also reportedly had access to highly classified information on Chinese intelligence activities in Australia. Chen has claimed that he had "gone easy" on dissidents and Falun Gong practitioners and had not reported some actions, to protest China's policies towards political dissent. He has also suggested that the Chinese government was becoming suspicious of his activities, and that as a result, he fears for his safety if returned to China. Chen remains unapologetic over his defection, insisting that he betrayed the Communist Party of China, not China.
Factors contributing to the defection, according to Chen, are the torture and death of his father during the Cultural Revolution, his witness of the Tiananmen Massacre, the persecution against the Falun Gong imposed by the Chinese Authorities.
Read more about this topic: Chen Yonglin
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Pilate with his question “What is truth?” is gladly trotted out these days as an advocate of Christ, so as to arouse the suspicion that everything known and knowable is an illusion and to erect the cross upon that gruesome background of the impossibility of knowledge.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)