Monday, Feb. 21

ANDREW MITROVICA and JEFF SALLOT
The Globe and Mail
Monday, February 21, 2000

The Beijing government is investigating one of its senior diplomats after allegations that he and his mistress stole as much as $750,000 from members of the Chinese community in Canada -- accusations that could lead to his execution.

As many as 50 Chinese Canadians entrusted money to the diplomat, Wei Zhendong, according to people who said they lost money in the scandal.

The scandal represents "a big shame for the embassy and for the Chinese government," Huang Ping, consul-general at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, said in an interview. Mr. Wei returned to China last May.

Mr. Wei, a 60-year-old career diplomat, is now described by the Chinese embassy as "retired" and living in Beijing with his wife and children.

Since last June, Mr. Huang said, Mr. Wei has been the subject of an investigation by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Wei was reached at his home in Beijing, but said he was ill and in no position to answer questions.

Any punishment could include a prison sentence or possible execution if there is a conviction for corruption, Mr. Huang said. But that decision would be made only after a criminal investigation is completed.

"All of this will be judged by the judicial department," Mr. Huang said.

Mr. Wei served as a counsellor and consul-general at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa for three years until May 18, 1999. He left for Beijing because his tour in Canada was up and for "humanitarian" reasons, Mr. Huang said.

Mr. Wei was responsible for cultivating relations with the Chinese community in Canada. It was in this capacity that he allegedly offered to invest money in businesses in Canada for scores of Chinese Canadians and landed immigrants he befriended.

He also said he needed money to pay for expensive medical care for his "dying" mother, Chinese Canadians said.
Mr. Wei was successful in raising money, they said, because in China it is an honour to help those in desperate need.

Others were simply attracted by the lure of a promised fast buck, since Mr. Wei and his accomplice allegedly trumpeted potentially lucrative joint Canadian-Chinese business ventures.

Some people who gave money to Mr. Wei said they received solemn and repeated assurances that their money would be returned quickly and that they would receive a healthy return if they invested with him.

However, those people said, their money, the accomplice and Mr. Wei soon disappeared.

One of the scores of Chinese Canadians who agreed to give money was Peter Zhang, a former history professor in Beijing and now a Toronto businessman.

Mr. Zhang said he met Mr. Wei on Jan. 2, 1999, at a performance of a touring Chinese drama troupe in Ottawa. Later that evening, the two men went to a local restaurant and struck up a friendship.

"He was very nice, very charming," Mr. Zhang said in an interview.

Several weeks later, Mr. Wei called Mr. Zhang in Toronto.

"He said he needed $10,000 in cash and in American dollars," Mr. Zhang said. "I didn't have all the money, so I had to borrow some from friends and take some from my credit cards."

Mr. Zhang said it was difficult to turn Mr. Wei down. He said he believed the diplomat was a trustworthy government official who made a very convincing case that his mother was gravely ill and required costly medical care at a hospital just outside Hong Kong. "He said his mother was dying. I believed him. I trusted him. He worked for the government. It was very difficult to say no."

Mr. Zhang arranged to meet a female friend of Mr. Wei in Toronto, where he handed her two bank drafts totalling $10,000. He said Mr. Wei offered no special favours or consideration.

But the woman -- who well-connected Chinese Canadians said was Mr. Wei's mistress -- promised that the money would be returned swiftly.

A month later, a concerned Mr. Zhang called Mr. Wei at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, asking when his money would be returned. Mr. Zhang said he was assured that it would be just a matter of days before he delivered the money. "He told me not to worry about it."

The money was never returned, Mr. Zhang said, and eventually he heard that Mr. Wei had returned to China.

Mr. Zhang said he called senior officials at the Chinese embassy on several occasions, trying to recover his money. To date, his pleas have been ignored.

Indeed, one diplomat told Mr. Zhang that Mr. Wei was incapable of stealing his money because he was "an honest man."

"I was foolish to believe [Mr. Wei]," Mr. Zhang said.

Another person who gave money to Mr. Wei said the diplomat approached him early last year with a business proposition.

"He said he would arrange a meeting with a female friend of his in Montreal," said the Ottawa entrepreneur, who requested anonymity because he fears reprisals against his family in China. "He said she was a very successful businesswoman who could turn a quick profit for me."

The man said he also found Mr. Wei charming and believable.

"I gave her $15,000 cash, supposedly for a small business in Ottawa. There was no investment as far as I can tell."

The man said he also complained to the Chinese embassy, demanding that his money be returned. He was simply told, he said, that Mr. Wei had been sent back to China and that authorities had launched a probe into the diplomat's actions. To date, he has not recovered any of his money.

Despite being aware of the Chinese diplomat's alleged fraud since last June, the Department of Foreign Affairs has done nothing to protest to the Chinese embassy or attempt to recover the lost money.

Beijing will not reimburse any of the Chinese Canadians who lost money, Mr. Huang said. "It has nothing to do with the embassy," he said.

Mr. Huang said Mr. Wei "admitted" early last year to officials at the Chinese embassy that he "borrowed" money because his mother was gravely ill.

However, when asked if he believed Mr. Wei's story, Mr. Huang said: "He said he needs money to take care of his mother and sons. He had a lot of excuses. I don't believe that."

Mr. Haung said the embassy began receiving complaints early last year from people who claimed Mr. Wei and his female associate owed them thousands of dollars.

Federal government officials have known about the scandal since last summer.

Foreign Affairs learned about the case when a Chinese-language newspaper in Toronto carried reports last June, departmental spokesman Sean Rowan said.

The paper, a daily called the World Journal, reported that Mr. Wei "borrowed" money, never paid it back and was sent home by the Chinese government.

Foreign diplomats are not allowed to engage in private business activities while in Canada.

Under international law, diplomats enjoy immunity from "jurisdiction of the courts and exemption from direct taxation." This special and broad protection extends even to members of an envoy's family.