Wo Weihan - Charges

Charges

The case against Wo related to alleged passing of sensitive national security information, which China argued justified special handling of the case.

It was claimed that Wo became a spy for Taiwan intelligence agency with the codename "YANG DONG". He got to know Mr Guo during a wedding ceremony in early 1990s. The Taiwan intelligence agency also invested (USD) $300,000 to help Wo's first wife, to set up a restaurant in Austria.

Mainland Chinese media and portals, including Global Times and Sina, released details of Wo and Guo's spying activities after the execution. In the early nineties, Wo Weihan bought critical information and documents on DF-31, from Guo Wanjun, a missile expert who had participated in the design of DF-31. Mr. Wo and Guo's activities resulted in the leakage of the top secret information of the DF-31, including internal design and structure of the missile, causing significant impact on Chinese national security. They both were accused of spying for Taiwan and US intelligence agencies by selling sensitive information on intercontinental ballistic missiles. Neither Taiwan nor US have made an official statement in this regard.

According to the verdict released by the High Court of Beijing after the sentencing in March 2008, the charges Wo Weihan was convicted of included: "...discussing the health of senior Chinese leaders." In PRC, the health status of senior leaders is declared top secret. Also included in the verdict were convictions of the smuggling of secret information of PLA's night time equipment. Wo was also accused of copying military photos from a magazine, which was public at the time but later declared classified.