Copyright The Washington Post Company May
4, 1990
An official of the Chinese Embassy here has
defected and plans to seek political asylum in the United
States, a top Chinese student leader said last night.
The official, Xu Lin, 33, was a third
secretary who handled student affairs at the embassy, according
to Liu Yongchuan, president of the Washington-based Independent
Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars.
Liu said Xu defected by leaving the embassy
Wednesday night because he is "very sympathetic to the
students' goals." The student federation was formed last
year to protect the rights of the estimated 40,000 Chinese
students in the United States and to promote democracy in China.
Since the Chinese army's bloody crackdown on
pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square last June, Xu
has helped Chinese students here renew their passports and has
avoided reporting on student activities to government officials,
Liu said.
"His actions put him in an awkward
position," Liu said. "He no longer wants to work for
the government."
Xu is scheduled to hold a news conference at
10:30 a.m. today at the National Press Club. Today is the 71st
anniversary of the historic May 4 student demonstrations in
China that marked the emergence of nationalism as the dominant
force in politics in modern China.
State Department officials declined to
comment last night on the reported defection, but Liu said he
had contacted the State Department on Xu's behalf and was told
that Xu should make his application to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
After the June crackdown last year, many
Chinese diplomats in the United States and elsewhere defected,
including some from the embassy here.
