China Steps Up Disinformation
Effort Against Dissident
中国制造虚假信息加强指控中国异见人士
Guo Wengui denies Chongqing police allegations of document
forgery
郭文贵否认重庆警方指控的涉嫌伪造文件
Guo
Wengui / Getty Images
翻译：Devin
中国制造虚假信息加强指控中国异见人士
中国政府本周加紧进行了长达数月的造谣诽谤，目的是压制流亡的中国富豪郭文贵。
针对这位身家亿万的房地产开发商的最新指控，重庆西南部的一个大城市的警方指控郭文贵雇了两名男子伪造30份党内文件。
陈志煜和陈志恒兄弟被捕，并在警局发布的录像声明中声称他们制作了30份文件。
中国公安人员采取了与中外新闻记者举行新闻发布会的不寻常行动，而且在周一举行的高调宣传活动中发布了三份涉嫌伪造的文件。
剩下的27份文件没有公开，这让人疑问这些文件是否存在。
中国过去也曾使用过类似的新闻发布会，并录下了虚假的供词——利用虚假和误导性信息来诋毁对手。当局也使用酷刑和强迫逼供。
周二，自称是中国内幕人士的郭文贵否认了中国的说法。郭在一份声明中说，他向陈提供了中共的文件，让他鉴别文件的真实性。
“至于我的举报内容，我对其真实性承担法律责任，”他说。
去年，一份由一个中国的官员发布的报告称，郭是中国政府史无前例的诽谤运动的目标，目的是要抹黑。报道说，中国官方媒体称他为“犯罪嫌疑人”，并发起了一场国际宣传活动，包括释放一名前高级情报官员的录像，指控郭腐败，并将视频上传到YouTube上，称其为“关于郭文贵的真相”，以抹黑郭文贵。
这起假情报活动包括中国在十月份派出四名中国安全官员前往纽约，向郭施压，要求他返回中国。美国联邦调查局(FBI)特工本来是准备逮捕这些官员的，但被国务院阻止，因为他们担心这会破坏中美关系。
在中国对郭的众多指控中，包括金融腐败指控和强奸员工的指控。北京还利用国际刑警组织(international police organization Interpol)的一名中国高级官员发出了对郭文贵的“红色通缉令”——这是一种国际通缉令，这是独裁者对异见人士使用的惯用伎俩。
加州大学伯克利分校信息学院教授肖强去年告诉委员会，中国对郭的行动“异常复杂”。
“我从来没有见过这样的事情，”肖说。 “看看中国政府在做什么，国际刑警组织。中国起诉他。外交上，与不同国家的双边会谈。在国内，大量的文章，媒体败坏他的名声。”
中国也已经使用了所谓的五毛水军 – 数以百计的互联网怪物，他们在社交媒体上盯上了郭。
中国的影响行动也被用来在Facebook、Twitter和YouTube上对郭文贵禁言，声称他的帖子违反了规则。
迫于中国驻华盛顿大使馆的抗议，2017年4月美国之音在采访郭进行了一小时20分钟后也取消了原定的进行3个小时的现场采访。
中国还对郭的律师和哈德森研究所智库进行了黑客行动。尽管这场运动，郭在国内外获得了中国人的巨大支持。
去年12月，一位司法部高级官员表示，尽管有中国政府的压力，但并没有计划引渡郭。
《纽约时报》(New York Times)上周报道称，艾略特•布罗迪(Elliott Broidy)曾试图迫使郭文贵被驱逐到中东，并最终回到中国。他在本月辞去了共和党全国委员会(Republican National Committee)副财政主席的职务。
自2017年初以来，郭一直直言不讳地批评中国高层领导人的腐败行为，包括现任中国副总理王岐山，直到不久前，他还在中国最高领导人习近平的领导下，负责全国性的反腐运动。
郭曾对中国国家安全部副部长马建充满信心，他曾在美国经营中国情报部门长达10年之久。作为反腐运动的一部分，马健被囚禁，许多人认为这是习近平的权力整合的掩护。
郭先生利用他与中国高级情报和安全官员的接触以及与该系统内部元素的联系，说他是从中国共产党内部获得了文件。郭还表示，重庆警方公布的陈氏兄弟的录像记录显示的郭被指控的伪造事件是被有选择地编辑过的。
“完整的录音带表明，陈氏兄弟正在帮助我通过回答我的问题来验证这些文件，”郭说。 “通过比较两份录音，显示出重庆制造了证据。”
郭说，两个陈持有加拿大护照，最近从新加坡消失。
“所有迹象表明，他们可能被绑架并强行带入中国大陆，”他说。
“我为美国执法部门提供了大量文件，”郭说。 “我发布的部分资料已经得到美国当局的认证。”
中国当局说的一个文件是伪造的，是郭在10月份在全国新闻俱乐部公开发表的一份内部党报。该文件称中国派出27名情报人员在美国侦察。
Free Beacon出版了另外两篇中国当局声称的伪造文章。
其中一个揭露了中国是如何在联合国会议后秘密支持朝鲜的。
第二份文件披露了中国计划加快窃取美国科技信息。
这三个文件不能由Free Beacon独立验证。
过去翻译和发表中国内部文件的中国专家说，这些文件看起来是真的，但认证它们很困难。
根据郭公开发表的对话记录，陈氏兄弟中的一位告诉郭说，一位中国官员只是确定了“专员”已经核实了文件的真实性。
根据对话的英文翻译，郭还告诉陈说：“我需要确保它是真实的，因为我将与F部门[FBI]沟通的信息必须是真实的。”
“这是非常重要的，”郭说。 “他们可能捏造假货，我们是否也会这样做？为什么我们不这样做？我们需要为我们提供的任何东西负责，这是必须的，否则我们的敌人会利用它。”
根据新华社的报道，郭先生是中国最想通缉的逃犯之一，自2017年8月起与陈氏一起工作。
警方说：“这些伪造的文件，也涉及到其他组织、企业和个人，带来了极大的负面影响，这三名犯罪嫌疑人的行为严重违反了法律，编造的声明也涉及其他组织，企业和个人，带来了极其负面的影响，三名嫌犯的这种行为严重违反了法律，”警方说，指出调查正在进行中。
中国当局表示，这些文件旨在帮助郭的申请政治避难。
然而，郭是在九月初申请的政治庇护，是中国人说他曾与陈氏合作后的一个月后。
据“金融时报”报道，中国当局还指控郭向国会议员和前官员提供竞选捐款。没有公布任何细节。
郭说，这些说法是虚假的，是中国政府捏造的。
著名中国专家亚瑟沃尔德龙说，中国在重庆的行为似乎是虚假的。
“郭先生绝对有货，”沃尔德龙说。 “否则中国不会陷入恐慌状态。”
“如果文件是伪造的，那么他们没有什么可担心的，”他补充说。 “毕竟，他们拥有所有的原始文件，而且很久以前就可以检查这些文件是否属实了。他们做了吗?他们肯定做了。”
Waldron指出，中国当局并没有声称所有的文件都是伪造的，只有少数。
他说:“中国想要诋毁郭，因为他将要揭露的事情真的会伤害到他们。”“我希望我们能有意识保证他的安全。”
宾夕法尼亚大学中国问题专家维克多·马尔说：“虽然对郭文贵和他的一些主张可能有所保留，但是关于重庆说的他委托两兄弟伪造假文件以获取美国避难的时间和内容，以及大量其他未经证实的指控，这些指控同时在攻击他的这些事，显示出了这是中国共产党的阴谋。“
April 26, 2018 5:00 am
China's government
this week intensified a months-long disinformation campaign aimed at silencing
exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui.
The latest allegations
against the billionaire real-estate developer were leveled by police in the
southwestern megacity of Chongqing asserting Guo paid two men to forge 30
internal Communist Party documents.
The two men, brothers
Chen Zhiyu and Chen Zhiheng, were arrested and in a videotaped statements
released by authorities alleged that they produced 30 documents.
Chinese public
security officials took the unusual step of holding a press conference with
both Chinese and foreign news reporters and released three allegedly forged
documents during the highly publicized event on Monday.
The remaining 27
documents were not made public, raising questions that the documents are
genuine.
China has been known
in the past to use similar press conferences and videotaped confessions for
disinformation—the use of false and misleading information to discredit
opponents. Authorities also use torture and coercion to force confessions.
On Tuesday, Guo, who
describes himself as a Chinese-insider-turned-whistleblower, denied China's
claims. In a statement, Guo said he provided the party documents to the Chens
in seeking to verify their authenticity.
"As for the
contents of my whistleblowing, I take legal responsibility for its
truthfulness," he said.
A report by a
congressional China commission made public last year said Guo has been the
target of an unprecedented smear campaign by the Chinese government in a bid to
discredit him.
"Chinese
state-run media called him a ‘criminal suspect' and launched an international
publicity campaign, including releasing a videotaped confession by a former
senior intelligence official accusing Mr. Guo of corruption and uploading
videos to YouTube on a channel called ‘Truth about Guo Wengui,' to discredit
him," the report said.
The disinformation
campaign has included China's dispatch of four Chinese security officials to New
York in October to pressure Guo into returning to China. FBI agents were
prepared to arrest the officials but were blocked from doing so by the State
Department over concerns it would upset U.S.-China relations.
Among China's numerous
allegations against Guo have included questionable claims of financial
corruption and rape of an employee. Beijing also used a senior Chinese national
working at the international police organization Interpol to issue a "red
notice"—an international arrest warrant that is a frequent tactic used by
dictatorships against dissidents.
Xiao Qiang, professor
at the School of Information, University of California, Berkeley, told the
commission last year the Chinese operation against Guo is "unusually
sophisticated."
"I have never seen
something like this," Xiao said. "Look at what the Chinese government
is doing. Interpol. Chinese lawsuits against him. The diplomatic, talking to
bilaterals of different countries. Domestically, massive articles, media
discredit him."
China also is has used
its so-called 50 Cent Army—hundreds of Internet trolls—who have targeted Guo on
social media.
Chinese influence
operations also have been used to silence Guo from Facebook, Twitter, and
YouTube by asserting his posts have violated rules.
The Voice of America
also canceled a scheduled three-hour live interview with Guo in April 2017
after an hour and 20 minutes, amid protests from the Chinese embassy in
Washington.
China also conducted a
hacking operation against Guo's lawyer and the Hudson Institute think tank.
Despite the campaign,
Guo has garnered enormous support from Chinese within China and abroad.
In December, a senior
Justice Department official said there are no plans to extradite Guo despite
the Chinese pressure.
The New York Times
reported last week that Elliott Broidy, who resigned this month as deputy
finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, worked on a plan to
force Guo's deportation to the Middle East and eventually back to China.
Since early 2017, Guo
has been an outspoken critic of corruption among China's senior leadership,
including current Chinese vice president Wang Qishan, who until recently was in
charge of a nationwide anticorruption campaign under current supreme leader Xi
Jinping.
Guo was once a
confident of Ma Jian, vice minister for State Security who ran Chinese
intelligence operations in the United States for over a decade. Ma was
imprisoned as part of the anticorruption campaign that many regard as cover for
power consolidation by Xi.
Using his access to
senior Chinese intelligence and security officials and continuing ties to
elements within the system, Guo has said he obtained documents from inside the
Communist Party of China.
Guo also said the
video recording of the Chen brothers made public by Chongqing police and
implicating Guo in the alleged forgeries was selectively edited.
"The entire tape
shows that the Chen brothers were helping me to verify those documents by
answering my questions," Guo said. "Comparing the two recordings
reveals that Chongqing fabricated evidence."
Guo said both Chens
hold Canadian passports and recently disappeared from Singapore.
"All signs show
that they were likely kidnapped and taken by force into the mainland
China," he said.
"I have provided
a great deal of documents in my possession to the U.S. law enforcement,"
Guo said. "Some of which I released have been authenticated by the U.S.
authorities."
One of the documents
Chinese authorities say was forged is an internal party report Guo made public
at the National Press Club in October. The document said China had dispatched
27 intelligence officers to spy in the United States.
Two others that
Chinese authorities claim are forgeries were published by the Free Beacon.
One revealed how China
was covertly supporting North Korea in the aftermath of United Nations.
A second document
disclosed China's plans to step up the theft of American science and technology
information.
The three documents
could not be independently verified by the Free Beacon.
China experts who have
translated and published Chinese internal documents in the past said the
documents appeared genuine but that authenticating them is difficult.
According to a
recording of a conversation made public by Guo, one of the Chen brothers told
Guo that a Chinese official identified only as "the commissioner" had
verified the authenticity of the documents.
Guo also told Chen,
according to an English translation of the conversation, that "I need to
make sure that it is authentic because the information I will communicate with
F department [FBI] must be authentic."
"This is very
vital," Guo said. "They may fabricate fake stuff, are we going to do
the same? Why are we not doing so? We need to be responsible for whatever we
present, this is a must, otherwise our enemy will take advantage of it."
According to the
state-run Xinhua news agency, Guo is a one of China's most wanted fugitives and
worked with the Chens since August 2017.
"The fabricated
claims, which also involved other organizations, enterprises, and individuals,
brought extremely negative impact, and such behavior of the three suspects
severely violated the law," the police said, noting that the investigation
is ongoing.
Chinese authorities
said the documents were intended to assist Guo's bid for political asylum.
However, Guo applied
for political asylum in early September, a month after the Chinese said he
worked with the Chens.
Chinese authorities
also alleged that Guo made campaign contributions to members of Congress and
former officials, Financial Times reported. No details were made public.
Guo said the claims
are false and a fabrication by the Chinese government.
Arthur Waldron, a
noted China specialist, said the Chinese operation in Chongqing appeared to be
bogus.
"Guo has definitely
got the goods," said Waldron. "Otherwise China would not be in panic
mode."
"If the documents
are forged then they have nothing to worry about," he added. "After
all they have all the original documents and could have checked long ago
whether those he claimed were in fact real. Did they? They must have."
Waldron noted that
Chinese authorities have not asserted all the documents are forged, only a few.
"China wants to
discredit Guo because what he will disclose is really going to hurt," he
said. "I hope we have the sense to keep him safe."
Said Victor H. Mair, a
China expert at the University of Pennsylvania: "While one may have
reservations about Guo Wengui and some of his claims, the timing and contents
of the story about him commissioning two brothers in Chongqing to forge
documents concerning his U.S. asylum application, together with a flood of
other unsubstantiated allegations that are simultaneously being hurled at him,
reek of [Chinese Communist Party] concoction."
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