Sheri Yan

Shiwei Yan
Born1956 (age 69–70)[1]
Anhui, China[1]
Other nameSheri Yan
SpouseRoger Uren
Children1

Shiwei 'Sheri' Yan (born 1956) is an American socialite and author. She is known for her involvement in multiple intelligence-related scandals.

Early life

Yan was born in the Anhui province in 1956, living with her parents and brother in a writers' compound.[2] When Yan was 11 years old, her parents were sent to a re-education camp. At the age of 15, Yan joined cultural group run by the Red Guards, a student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong. She reunited with her family five years later.[1]

Career

Yan had studied to become a journalist, later working for the Communist Party's propaganda outlet China National Radio in Beijing. In the 1980s, Yan flew to the US to work as a journalist and to learn English. Her mother had sown $400 into the lining of her jacket.[1][3]

Yan had been previously hired by Bruce Dover, an executive at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as a lobbyist for the purpose of expanding the company's presence in China.[4]

In 2012, Yan created a non-governmental organization, named the Global Sustainability Foundation (GSF). Former Australian chairman of law firm Freehills, Ian Hutchison, was GSF's "Vice Chairman of the Board" and Australia's former New York consul general, Phil Scanlan, was a GSF board adviser. Former United Nations (UN) General Assembly president John William Ashe was a notable backer of the organization.[1] The NGO had previously received UN accreditation.[1]

While on bail, Yan began working with Children of Promise, a Brooklyn-based charity for the children of incarcerated parents. She turned their art lessons into a book called Art from the Heart to showcase the charity's work. After she left prison, Yan became the executive director of the charity.[3]

Yan wrote an autobiography The Halfway House (2019),[3] in Chinese which sold out. Presently, there are discussions about writing an English language translation.

Investigations

Yan and her husband Roger Uren, a former Office of National Assessments (ONA) official, were investigated by ASIO on suspicion of spying for China.[5] Uren, former Assistant Secretary responsible for the Asia section of ONA, was found to have removed documents pertaining to Chinese intelligence operations in Australia, and kept them in his apartment.[5] Yan was suspected of undertaking influence operations on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, and introducing Colonel Liu Chaoying, a military intelligence officer, to Australian contacts.[5][6][7]

In 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alleged Yan,[1] an Australian-Chinese suspected by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) of Chinese intelligence activity, bribed the former president of the United Nations General Assembly, John Ashe. She allegedly used A$200,000 of Chau Chak Wing's money to bribe Ashe to attend a conference held at Chau's Imperial Springs resort in China.[8][9] Yan disclosed that she and others had paid Mr. Ashe to help promote business ventures from "which we intended to profit" beginning in 2012.[2] Yan plead guilty to bribery charges and served a 20-month prison sentence, however denied that she was spying on behalf of the Chinese government.[3][2][10][11] Five other charges were dropped as part of the guilty plea.[3] Greg Rudd, a political lobbyist and brother of former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, endorsed Yan's character, which was used to seek a reduced jail sentence.[4]

Personal life

Yan was previously married before leaving China for the United States. She later married Roger Uren, an Australian diplomat who at the time was writing a book about Kang Sheng. In 1996, they had a daughter.[1]

Further reading

  • Banerjee, Robin (2021). Corporate Frauds: Business Crimes now Bigger, Broader, Bolder Archived 2022-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Sage Publishing. ISBN 978-93-5479-162-8
  • Banerjee, Robin (2019). Who Blunders and How: The Dumb Side of the Corporate World Archived 2022-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Sage Publishing. ISBN 978-93-5328-579-1
  • Boutros, Andrew S., Funk, T. Markus (2019). From Baksheesh to Bribery: Understanding the Global Fight Against Corruption and Graft, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-023240-5
  • Cooper, Sam (2021). Wilful Blindness: How a Network of Narcos, Tycoons and CCP Agents Infiltrated the West, Optimum Publishing International. ISBN 978-0-88890-314-3
  • Faligot, Roger (2019). Chinese Spies: From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping, Hurst Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78738-604-4
  • Liétar, Pauline (2017). ONU: la grande imposture, Albin Michel. ISBN 978-2-226-39391-3
  • Kwok, Sharon I., Lo, T. Wing, Siegel, Dina (2019). Organized Crime and Corruption Across Borders: Exploring the Belt and Road Initiative, Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-63223-5
  • South-South Cooperation and Chinese Sun Kian Ip Group signs cooperation agreement, 7 March 2015, USA News Online
  • On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Supreme Court of the United States, March 16, 2020
  • One of China's Richest Men Convicted in United Nations Bribery Case: Ng Lap Seng, a Chinese billionaire who wanted to build a U.N. facility in China that would be as big as the one in New York, was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges on Thursday, NBC News, July 27, 2017
  • Chinese billionaire Ng Lap Seng convicted in UN bribery case: Tycoon paid inducements to promote ‘Geneva of Asia’ project in Macau, FT, July 28, 2017
  • Chairman of Macau Real Estate Development Company Sentenced to Prison for Role in Scheme to Bribe United Nations Ambassadors to Build A Multi-Billion Dollar Conference Center, The United States Department of Justice, May 11, 2018

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McKenzie, Nick; Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany; Hunter, Fergus (November 11, 2018). "Beijing's secret plot to infiltrate UN used Australian insider".
  2. 1 2 3 Weiser, Benjamin (20 January 2016). "Executive in U.N. Corruption Case Pleads Guilty". New York Times.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Needham, Kirsty (14 April 2019). "Woman accused of being Chinese influence agent tells her story for the first time". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. 1 2 Baker, Richard; McKenzie, Nick (29 July 2017). "Charges loom for ex-intelligence official Roger Uren after ASIO raid". afr.com.
  5. 1 2 3 McKenzie, Nick; Flitton, Daniel; Uhlmann, Chris; Baker, Richard (5 June 2017). "Secret ASIO raid uncovered classified documents in power couple's Canberra apartment". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017.
  6. ↑ McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard (29 July 2017). "Charges loom for ex-intelligence official Roger Uren after ASIO raid". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017. Fairfax Media has confirmed one of Yan's contacts was a Chinese military intelligence operative and reputed arms broker, Colonel Liu Chaoying. Yan introduced Colonel Liu to her Australian network, including a wealthy Australian businessman who took Colonel Liu on several dinner dates.
  7. ↑ Australian Associated Press (5 June 2017). "Canberra couple subject of ASIO raid". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. A Fairfax Media and Four Corners investigation reports the raid targeted Sheri Yan and former Australian diplomat Roger Uren, over allegations she was involved in operations for the Chinese Communist Party.
  8. ↑ "ASIO warns political parties over foreign donations". ABC News. 2017-06-05. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Chau v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 3) [2021] FCA 44 (2 February 2021)". Federal Court of Australia. p. Section 20.
  10. ↑ Melendez, Pilar; Ferrigno, Lorenzo (21 January 2016). "Foundation founder's guilty plea: I helped fund U.N. official's extravagant life". CNN.
  11. ↑ French, Lauren (21 January 2016). "Executive Pleads Guilty Helping Pay for U.N. Official's Lavish Lifestyle". Time.
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