Dewinter: “I am not a spy, but I may have been naive” | Domestic

Former Vlaams Belang politician Frank Creyelman was used as an informant by a Chinese spy for years. In the aftermath of that story, Dewinter’s name also surfaced in recent days. That’s not the first time.

In 2018, a State Security report was leaked showing that Dewinter was an advisor for many years at a non-profit organization (Europe China Cultural and Educational Foundation) that was suspected of Chinese espionage. The founder of the non-profit organization, the Chinese Shao Changchun, was deported from the country at the end of 2017. The public prosecutor’s office stopped the investigation into Dewinter because it could not accuse him of criminal offenses.

In the meantime, ‘Gazet Van Antwerpen’ writes that Dewinter allegedly set up a delivery of 10,000 face masks in 2020 with the Chinese spy Shao Changchun. This is apparently evident from a note from the security services about Chinese interference that was explained to the core cabinet yesterday by Minister of Justice Paul Van Tichgelt (Open Vld).

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Dewinter now denies that he had contact with Changchun for that face mask deal. He does acknowledge that he has addressed his “shared Chinese contacts”. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not a spy. I do not endanger democracy because I contact my contacts to distribute face masks to the population when the government fails to do so,” said Dewinter.

According to Dewinter, the fact that this story and his former contacts with Shao Changchun are now resurfacing is a “damage operation” against his person and his party. “Old cows are being taken out of the canal,” it sounds.

Dewinter also believes that State Security should better inform politicians about possible foreign interference. “It is extremely difficult for us to distinguish spies from correct, honest people,” says Dewinter. He points out that Chanchung was also received in 2014 by then Minister of the Interior Jan Jambon (N-VA).