Beijing denies man jailed for spying in Iran is Chinese dual national
A Chinese- American man accused of “infiltration” in Iran has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, local media reported on Sunday, although the Chinese foreign ministry denied that he held Chinese nationality.
Speaking at a daily press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters that China does not recognize dual nationality, and based on the information China has about the man, named as Wang Xiyue, they are “very sure this person does not have Chinese nationality.”
Wang is a 37- year- old researcher at Princeton University, according to Miz- anonline, the official news agency of Iran’s judiciary. Wang, who was born in Beijing according to the report, was arrested on August 8, 2016 while trying to leave the country.
Mizanonline said he was part of “an infiltration project” aimed at gathering “highly confidential articles” for several US and British institutions, including Princeton, the US State Department, Harvard’s Kennedy School and the British Institute for Persian Studies.
“Before his arrest he was able to digitally archive 4,500 pages of the country’s documents, while under covert surveillance,” said Mizanonline.
The confidential documents were said to be taken from “research and cultural archives” and “the libraries of some state organizations.”
Mizanonline published an excerpt from a British Institute of Persian Studies annual report, in which Wang thanked its librarian for helping him make contact with academics in Iran.
The report claimed this as “proof” Wang was on a covert mission, although the quote shows Wang was openly trying to work with academics to access a number of official archives in Tehran and Mashhad.
The US State Department later issued a statement confirming it was “aware of reports regarding Xiyue Wang, a US citizen detained in Iran” – phrasing that is normally read as a confirmation.
It added: “We continue to use all the means at our disposal to advocate for US citizens who need our assistance overseas especially for the release of any unjustly detained US citizens held overseas.”