A
BUNGLED act of espionage has cast a cloud over next month’s summit between
the leaders of China and the United States after Chinese technicians found
27 eavesdropping devices on board an American airliner bought for
President Jiang Zemin’s personal use.
The twin-engined Boeing 767 aircraft, bought and refitted at a cost to
the Chinese state treasury of �105m, remains parked and unused at a
military airfield outside Beijing.
The Chinese president’s acute embarrassment at the lapse in security
will be deepened by reports that 20 of his air force officers and two
senior officials are being investigated for corruption and negligence in
relation to the purchase of the aircraft.
The affair is certain to create an atmosphere of distrust during
Jiang’s summit with President George W Bush in Beijing next month. Their
meeting was intended to mend fences after the two nations clashed last
year in the South China Sea, when a US Navy spy plane was forced down by a
Chinese fighter, which crashed with the loss of a star pilot.
The two rivals have been drawn together since the September 11
terrorist attacks by their mutual interest in fighting radical Islamic
groups in Central Asia, but Jiang is reported to be furious about the
Boeing affair and fearful of political damage to his prestige and
authority.
Ultra-patriotic staff officers are already restless over Beijing’s
acquiescence to the US military campaign on China’s doorstep in
Afghanistan and many are also deeply disturbed to see US bases being
established in neighbouring states.
Diplomats in Beijing were yesterday digesting the implications of a
detailed report on Jiang’s aircraft published by The Washington Post,
which said it had been given information by sources close to the Chinese
intelligence services.
The leak was evidently timed with care, because the Chinese found the
listening devices last October. It appeared to be the work of a faction
seeking to undermine Jiang, who is trying to retain power as he faces a
series of leadership changes later this year.
The Chinese leader was derided by hardline nationalists after he acted
to defuse the spy plane crisis by accepting an apology and allowing the
American crew to go home. Diplomatic sources said it was no coincidence
that credit for finding the listening devices on Jiang’s plane has been
accorded to the third department of the general staff department of the
People’s Liberation Army — the same unit that played a key role in the spy
plane incident.
Tantalising glimpses of the inside of Jiang’s luxurious “Air Force One”
have already appeared on Chinese websites read by millions usually denied
such insights by the rigorously controlled official media. China was so
eager to acquire the plane for Jiang that it jumped ahead of Delta
Airlines in the production line in June 2000. The long-range Boeing 767 is
said to be fitted out with just 100 beige leather chairs that recline into
beds, similar to those in first class on western commercial airlines.
Reports that officers found listening devices in the headboard of
Jiang’s presidential bed and in his personal bathroom suggest the Chinese
president has acquired a taste for sybaritic travel that exceeds Mao
Tse-tung’s renowned fondness for comforts unavailable to the masses.
Jiang has not yet been able to use the aircraft because its electronics
are still being dismantled while specialist engineers hunt for more bugs.
Western avionics specialists say the Chinese technicians face a daunting
task and may have to call in foreign help.
The CIA and the US embassy in Beijing refused to
comment.
