It seems likely that hundreds, may be as many as eight hundred, democracy activists were indeed smuggled out of China shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre by the secret Hong Kong-based 'Operation Yelloow Bird'. They included some of the democracy leaders at the top of China's 'most wanted' list, such as the student activist, Wu'er Kaixi, Chai Ling and Li Lu, as well as Yan Jaiqi, the former adviser to the deposed Communist, leader Zhao Ziyang, and the prominent businessman Wan Runnan, whose Stone Corporation was once hailed as China's version of the Apple computer company, when Apple was still regarded as a role model.
None of the departures via the underground railway was regarded by China as being as serious as the defection to the United States of Xu Jiatun, the Director of Xinhua or the New China News Agency in Hong Kong. As far as China was concerned, the point about Xu's departure was not so much his seniority but the extent to which he had evidently been "corrupted" by his seven-year stay among the flesh-pots of Hong Kong. China has always been concerned by how its officials would respond to the "outside" temptations.
When Chinese officials express fears that their colleagues will be corrupted by Hong Kong they are really referring to the so-called "spiritual pollution" which China is fighting on every front. After Xu's departure, officials arriving from the mainland were more closely vetted and an edict was issued to limit the time they would be allowed to spend in Hong Kong.
"I got the first tip-off about the defection of Xu on May 10, 1990" said Vines. It sounded too fantastic for words. After all, not only was Mr. Xu a very senior official but he appeared to have survived the post-Tiananmen purge. The tip-off came from my colleague Jonathan Mirsky in London and I feared that this was just another piece of black propaganda. However, it was true. Xu, assisted by some Hong Kong businessmen, had boarded a plane for Los Angeles in the company of a young woman euphemistically described as his secretary. His wife remained in China. He later wrote some very revealing memoirs."
Vines' reporting on the Xu case was astute and incisive:
"Xu's defection (which was not described as such: officials tried to convince us that it was no more than a prolonged overseas visit) was a double blow. China not only lost it ranking official in the colony but also the man who had spent the last seven years patiently assuring Hong Kong people that they faced a bright future under Chinese rule. Now he had decided that the future was not bright enough for himself to share."
