Spy riddle in Paris

Press, 9 July 1983, Page 10

Spy riddle in Paris

NZPA Paris The French authorities are trying to unravel an extraordinary Chinese puzzle made up of three main elements — deviant sex, espionage, and diplomacy.

The problem arose after the arrest this week of Bernard Boursicot, aged 39, a former clerk in the French Embassy in Peking from 1969-72, formally charged with handing over secret diplomatic documents to Chinese Inteligence 10 years ago instead of shredding them.

His defence was that he had been forced to do so because of his love for a Chinese woman, Shi Peipu, the mother of his 17-year-old adopted son, Shi Dudu.

He said that he had been able to go on seeing Miss Shi only by co-operating with a Chinese Intelligence agent, Kang. That was how things stood until the French coun-ter-espionage service, the D.S.T. yesterday arrested Miss Shi, who with Shi Dudu had gone to Paris to join Boursicot. The D.S.T. asserts that

Miss Shi is a male singer at the Peking Opera.

There is of course no question of a “son.” The D.S.T. said that Boursicot had visited China in 1981 for three weeks to see his friend, and they both returned to Paris with Dudu, an abandoned orphan, whom they adopted. Boursicot is charged with handing over unclassified material to Kang concerning the Soviet Union, Hungary, India, the United States, and France. If found guilty he could be given a sentence ranging from 10-20

years. Boursicot’s arrest 10 years after the alleged spying offence surprised his friends, for since leaving Peking he was also given other foreign posts, including Ulan Bator (Mongolia) and Dublin. An investigating magistrate is expected to order a medical examination of Shi Peipu, who is aged about 50, to determine the singer’s sex.

Shi Peipu has twice appeared on French television and gave highly successful performances.