
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 5, 1990                   TAG: 9005050114
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CHINESE EMBASSY OFFICIAL DEFECTS

A Chinese diplomat announced Friday he had defected and said that more than half the officials in the Chinese Embassy here privately support the pro-democracy movement in their homeland.

"Many people in high-ranking levels" who worked with him in the embassy are secretly "sympathetic and supportive" of the pro-democracy movement, said Xu Lin, 33, a third secretary who handled student affairs. These diplomats fear punishment by their government if they openly express this support, he said.

Xu also said at a news conference that since the bloody June 4 crackdown on demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, at least 14 officials in Chinese diplomatic posts in the United States - including five of about 200 stationed at the embassy in Washington - have defected.

Worldwide, he added, 70 Chinese diplomats or government officials have defected since the Tiananmen Square incident that left hundreds, perhaps thousands, dead.

A State Department spokesman, citing longstanding policy against discussing questions about defectors, declined to comment on Xu's assertions.

An official at the Chinese Embassy did not respond to inquiries.

Xu's announcement of his defection came on the 71st anniversary of the May 4 Chinese student revolt that inspired much of last year's protests. He declined to comment on the whereabouts of his wife and daughter.

Xu, his eyes puffy but his voice strong and confident, said he left the embassy Wednesday evening after learning that he had been placed on a "black list" by the government in Beijing for his views supporting the pro-democracy movement. He had been assigned to a four-year term in 1988, but decided to defect after being told his tenure would be shortened by two years, he said.

"I am well aware of the potential danger of this," Xu said. But he added that he feared punishment if he returned to China. Xu said he has applied for political asylum with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Xu said that fellow diplomats in the embassy routinely "will not carry out their orders" to report on the activities of Chinese students in the United States who support the pro-democracy movement.

by CNB