Whether in times of war or peace, in order to protect national security, countries have always been fierce and will not tolerate it in the field of counter-espionage. Of course, professional spies are very good at camouflage and lurking, which makes counter-espionage work face great difficulties. In the 1940s and 1950s, an American spy couple, Li Ke and Li You'an, used their status as scholars to sneak into China, and the institution they were lurking in was Tsinghua University, the highest institution in China. Teaching in the Department of Foreign Languages at Tsinghua University, they used their status to work for the US Naval Intelligence Department, and were eventually brought to justice by China's national security department. How did the smiling and personable American professor sneak into Tsinghua University step by step? What kind of conspiracy did they carry to steal our intelligence? How was this extremely hidden spy couple discovered and arrested? With these questions in mind, we reinterpret the "Tsinghua Professor Espionage Case" from more than 60 years ago.
Alan Rickett was born in Washington, D.C. Like many young Americans, he had big dreams as a teenager, hoping to break through the world with his talents. Of course, because he did not have a strong family background, Alan Richter was once depressed. Until the outbreak of World War II, he chose to join the army to serve the country, and also ushered in a turning point in his life.
Early on, Alan Rickett joined the U.S. Marine Corps, but he was expected to show his skills on the battlefield, but he was favored by U.S. military intelligence. He was selected by his superiors and sent to a school under the U.S. Naval Intelligence Agency to learn intelligence knowledge. At that time, the United States was the leader of the anti-fascist league, and Alan Rickett's intelligence work also contributed to the anti-fascist war. During this time, he also gained love, fell in love with Adele and married. Since then, the couple's life has begun to be smooth. As outstanding cadets trained by the U.S. Naval Intelligence Service, they were given the opportunity to continue their studies after the war and were sent to the East Asian Department of the University of Pennsylvania to study Chinese. During this time, the two also had a new Chinese names Li Ke and Li You'an. The couple excelled in college and even received a Fulbright Scholarship set by the U.S. government. According to normal logic, they can become outstanding scholars and become famous in the academic field. However, a special order shattered the original calm.
After completing their university studies, Li Ke and Li Youan prepared to continue their studies as visiting scholars at Tsinghua University and Yenching University in China. Originally majoring in Chinese they are also very yearning for Oriental culture, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Before leaving, however, they received a notification from the U.S. Department of the Navy's intelligence service asking them to accept a special assignment. Although Li Ke has retired, he still accepts the order. At the U.S. Naval headquarters, an intelligence officer told them about the mission. After hearing this, the couple understood in their hearts that their trip to China was to provide intelligence for the U.S. Navy.
From a scholar to a spy, Li Ke not only did not feel uneasy about this identity change, but was very excited. Because when he joined the army in his early years, he systematically studied intelligence work, which is not unfamiliar. On the other hand, he believes that he is being reused by the U.S. Navy, and that it is time to use his ingenuity. So he persuaded his wife to accept a secret mission from the U.S. Naval Intelligence Service.
After arriving in China, Chinese very skilled, they were quickly recognized by the leaders of Tsinghua University and became English lecturers in the Department of Foreign Languages. In order to retain this pair of talents, Tsinghua University has also given great sincerity. In terms of salary alone, the monthly salary of Tsinghua teachers at that time was generally only 20 US dollars, while the monthly income of Li Ke and Li Youan was as high as 150 US dollars. In addition to the high salary, Tsinghua University is also very concerned about their living conditions, and it can be said that they take good care of them.
Feeling the sincerity of Chinese, Li Ke and Li Youan have never forgotten their identity and mission. During their work, they are approachable, show a polite scholarly demeanor, and are very enthusiastic about their students. Soon, the two foreign teachers won the affirmation of Tsinghua teachers and students, became popular with everyone, and more and more friends around them. Using their identities as Tsinghua teachers, Li Ke and Li Youan also began to collect intelligence secretly. Although they do not have access to many core secrets, they often knock on the side and target some teachers and students at Tsinghua. During this period, they held many gatherings and took the initiative to bring the topic to politics during the conversation. They even give small favors to many students, constantly talking while bringing them closer together, recording any valuable information.
For example, in December 1949, Li Ke and Li Youan held a large banquet at their home to celebrate Christmas. According to the instructions of the U.S. Naval Intelligence Service, they invited many Tsinghua scholars who returned from the United States, including Professor Zhou Liang, then head of the history department at Tsinghua University. During the banquet, the couple showed great enthusiasm for the returned professor, and constantly guided and tested Zhou Liang in the fiery atmosphere of conversation, in order to understand his true thoughts after returning home. In the end, they decided that Professor Zhou Liang's return to China was to serve the motherland wholeheartedly. Immediately after the banquet, they sent the investigation report to the U.S. Naval Intelligence Service.
Teaching at Tsinghua University, Li Ke and Li Youan also have access to a variety of materials and literature, which makes them more familiar with Chinese. In addition to collecting and sorting out some important documents in the Tsinghua Library, they also purchased and read all the newspapers and books they had access to. After sorting out, they selected some of the important information, plus a series of conversation records and other information previously collated, and sent them all to the US consulate, and then forwarded to the US Naval intelligence department. From 1948 to 1950, Li Ke and Li Youan took advantage of their positions to steal information bit by bit, providing a large amount of intelligence to the U.S. Naval Intelligence Service. During the period of Kuomintang rule, the husband and wife did a very good job of concealment, without showing any horse's feet. With the establishment of New China, the latent work of the two encountered major problems.
In particular, after the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the newborn republic resolutely decided to send troops to Korea to meet the leading boss of capitalist society in the United States battlefield. China and the United States are intolerant of fire and water, and the domestic people hate the United States even more, and this rejection of Americans also spread among Tsinghua teachers and students. Because of the emotional and ideological barriers, Li Ke and Li Youan's intelligence gathering efforts have become difficult. Many people deliberately alienated them, and some confidential departments were also wary of them, which made the two think of leaving China and returning to the United States.
Of course, because Sino-US relations were very sensitive at that time, Li Ke and Li Youan also had American status, so their application to leave the country was not immediately approved. In accordance with the relevant requirements of the special period, China must verify and screen the personnel sent by the United States, and Li Ke and Li Youan are also on the list. Seeing that they could not return to China smoothly, Li Ke and Li Youan became more and more impatient, and their abnormal behavior also attracted the attention of China's security departments. However, due to their high level of concealment, no clues have been revealed, and although the state security department has some doubts about them, it is suffering from the lack of conclusive evidence, and the investigation work has once reached an impasse.
At the crucial moment, there was a person who played a key role in solving this espionage case, and he was the famous artist Ying Ruocheng. Many people may not be familiar with Yingruocheng, an artist of the older generation, but they will not be unfamiliar with his son. His son is the famous director Yingda, who has directed popular sitcoms such as "I Love My Family" and "Idle Centaur Big Sister", and is also the ex-husband of veteran artist Song Dandan. Before the founding of New China, Yingruocheng had already made small achievements in the field of drama. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he entered Tsinghua University for further study, and studied in the Department of Foreign Chinese And Literature of Tsinghua University, and Li Ke was his teacher.
With the relationship between teachers and students, Yingruocheng can walk into Li Ke's circle and further observe his every move. When the national security department entrusted this task to him, Yingruocheng did not hesitate. In his view, although he and Li Ke have a teacher-student friendship, he must take a firm stand in the face of great right and wrong. Spies who endanger national security must be arrested as soon as possible. To this end, in accordance with the plan formulated by the national security department, he began to further take the initiative to contact Li Ke. It is worth mentioning that ying ruocheng was married at that time, and his wife Wu Shiliang was an English translator who had worked for Premier Zhou. With this condition, Yingruocheng is more successful in his interaction with Li Ke and his wife, and the communication between the two sides is very harmonious. Especially in a series of banquets held by Mr. and Mrs. Li Ke, Ying Ruocheng was a guest of honor. While the Li Kes were stealing the spy information, Ying Ruocheng was also quietly observing them. The so-called praying mantis catches cicadas, and the yellow finches are behind. Mr. and Mrs. Li Ke never thought that their every move had long been seen by Yingruocheng and remembered in their hearts.
According to a memoir written later by Yingruocheng, like Li Ke and his wife, after each banquet, Yingruocheng and his wife would also organize the relevant situation in the banquet into a report and then transfer it to the national security department. Although they are said to have not undergone professional intelligence training, the two have a stable personality and a meticulous mind. In order not to miss every detail, they wrote the report in great detail, often dozens of pages in a report. At the same time, they did everything in secrecy and did not mention the task to anyone. All report documents submitted to the national security department are sealed in a special file bag to ensure that they are safely and error-free to the national security department at the first time.
In this way, the evidence of the crime of Li Ke and his wife engaged in illegal espionage was recorded bit by bit by Yingruocheng and his wife. With the passage of time, the Li Ke and his wife, who have been unable to return to China for a long time, have been in chaos, exposing more and more problems. After sufficient evidence, the national security department formally arrested the two men in July 1951. During the interrogation, Li Youan first confessed in the face of ironclad evidence, and then Li Ke also admitted his identity as a spy, and the "Tsinghua Teachers' Espionage Case" was finally solved.
It can be said that in the process of solving the case, Yingruocheng has made great contributions. This veteran artist later made numerous works in the field of drama, film and television drama. At the same time, he also served as vice minister of Culture of China and director of the Film and Television Production Department, and has also made great contributions to the development of China's film and television industry.
After Li Ke and his wife fell into the legal net, they still had illusions for a while and did not give much information. Li Ke, in particular, still has so-called "patriotic illusions" that what he does is a patriotic act. For such "patriots" as himself and his wife, he believes that the US government will not turn a blind eye and will certainly help. However, to his surprise, the rescue of the US government did not come, and they waited for the assassination of the US intelligence service.
After an interrogation, Li Ke suddenly fell ill while eating, and his body became unwell, and he was once in danger. After the doctor's rescue, he turned the corner. According to the public security department's post-mortem investigation, this was a poisoning incident, and it was the American spies who poisoned Li Ke's food. Apparently, Li Ke had a lot of secrets from the US intelligence department, and seeing that he was arrested, the US intelligence department decided to kill him in order to prevent the leakage of secrets.
After experiencing this incident, Li Ke finally woke up. He finally realized that he and his wife were mere pawns that U.S. intelligence could use and abandon at any time, and that such a government was not worth dying for. After that, he completely broke with the US intelligence department and began to actively accept the investigation and actively accept ideological reform. He even wrote 76 pages of confessions, all of which confessed to his crimes and a series of conspiracies by U.S. intelligence. Because Mr. and Mrs. Li Ke only lurked at Tsinghua University during their time in China, the intelligence they collected was of limited value and did not pose much of a threat. In the end, they were sentenced to six years and four years and six months in prison, respectively. As a result of their good performance during their sentences, my Government also commuted their sentences and released them early.
The irony is that when Mr. and Mrs. Li Ke returned to China, some anti-China media in the United States interviewed them and even encouraged them to make anti-China and anti-communist remarks. However, the Li Ke couple, who had already seen everything, did not waver in the slightest. Not only did they admit to espionage, they also offered to repent to the Chinese. If you know what you are wrong, you will change it, and you will be very good. In the years since, the couple not only did not hate China at all, but also wrote a book based on their own experiences, called "Self-Descriptions of Two American Spies." This book also further exposes the shameless conspiracy of the US intelligence services.
It is worth mentioning that after abandoning the disgraceful cloak of espionage, Mr. and Mrs. Li Ke re-entered the university to teach. They continued to delve into Han culture at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland, and became famous "red sinologists" thereafter. During their teaching, they translated a large number of Chinese literary works into English, making great contributions to promoting Sino-US cultural exchanges. In the 1970s and 1980s, the couple also visited China twice as friendly people, leaving a good story. Since then, this "Tsinghua American Professor Espionage Case" that shocked China and foreign countries has also drawn a satisfactory end.
bibliography:
Water Flowing clouds: The Autobiography of Ying Ruocheng, CITIC Publishing House
The Self-Description of Two American Spies, Mass Press