Spy Skullduggery Rumors From Loomis

Recent reports in the Chinese press (not in English; rumor comes to me via word-of-mouth) indicate China is willing to pay a very, very high ransom to the United States for this man's return from Loomis, California, just outside Sacramento.

Rumor has it, China will expedite the return of 40,000 Chinese stuck in legal limbo from the U.S., whose visas have expired and yet whose Chinese paperwork is also not in order. China will make it happen, presto. Plus, the United States can just pocket the man's $600 million. China doesn't care about the money. All China wants is to get this guy back under their control again.

The English-language press needs to catch up and watch this story more carefully. Spy skullduggery galore! This backgrounder is from last month:

LOOMIS, Calif. — China is demanding that the Obama administration return a wealthy and politically connected businessman who fled to the United States, according to several American officials familiar with the case. Should he seek political asylum, he could become one of the most damaging defectors in the history of the People’s Republic.

The case of the businessman, Ling Wancheng, has strained relations between two nations already at odds over numerous issues before President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to the United States in September, including an extensive cybertheft of American government data and China’s aggressive territorial claims.

Mr. Ling is the youngest brother of Ling Jihua, who for years held a post equivalent to that of the White House chief of staff, overseeing the Communist Party’s inner sanctum as director of its General Office. Ling Jihua is one of the highest-profile casualties of an anticorruption campaign that Mr. Xi has made a centerpiece of his government.