Who is Dong Jingwei? Rumors Swirl Regarding Defector Links to Wuhan

The Daily Beast is reporting today that top level U.S. officials are rumored to have helped a man named Dong Jingwei defect from China in February.  Dong (the family name is often first in China) is believed to have held a top office in the "Ministry of State Security", where he would have had access to information about the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Who is Dong Jingwei

Dong Jingwei was a top official in China's Guoanbu, which is something like the CIA/NSA in the U.S.  The organization is responsible for intelligence, as well as running the secret police and handling counterintelligence.  It has been implicated in hacks on Moderna, as well as China's activities in the Middle East and South Asia.

According to The Daily Beast, Dong may have had information on what happened in Wuhan, including activities that occurred at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which some believe is connected to the origin of COVID-19.  The Daily Beast refers to another news outlet that claims Dong provided information to the U.S. regarding China's biological warfare programs.  It further suggests that learning about those programs may be what changed the Biden administration's tune about the origin of COVID-19.

Dong is reported to have run the Guoanbu in Hebei, China, and would therefore have had access to very high-level information.  The reporting suggests that at least one of his family members traveled to the U.S. with Dong from Hong Kong to the U.S.  

The U.S. and China, however, have not corroborated this rumor, and some are skeptical about it.  False reports of defectors do appear from time to time.