physics

Wo Weihan

Wo Weihan is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wo Weihan rather than just read about it. In short: Wo Weihan (Chinese: 沃维汉; pinyin: Wò Wéihàn; 1949 – November 28, 2008), a native of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, was a Chinese scientist and entrepreneur of Daur nationality. He was executed at the age of 58–59 on November 28, 2008, by firing squad, along with missile expert Guo Wanjun, 66, for passing sensitive information to a Taiwanese NGO.

Key takeaways

Wo Weihan belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wo Weihan to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wo Weihan from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wo Weihan (Chinese: 沃维汉; pinyin: Wò Wéihàn; 1949 – November 28, 2008), a native of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, was a Chinese scientist and entrepreneur of Daur nationality. He was executed at the age of 58–59 on November 28, 2008, by firing squad, along with missile expert Guo Wanjun, 66, for passing sensitive information to a Taiwanese NGO. Weihan was interrogated for ten months in 2005 and allowed access to a lawyer in 2006. His trial was held in secrecy in 2007.

Charges The case against Wo related to alleged passing of sensitive national security information, which China argued justified special handling of the case. It was claimed that Wo became a spy for Taiwan intelligence agency with the codename "YANG DONG". He got to know Mr Guo during a wedding ceremony in early 1990s. The Taiwan intelligence agency also invested (USD) $300,000 to help Wo's first wife, to set up a restaurant in Austria. Mainland Chinese media and portals, including Global Times and Sina, released details of Wo and Guo's spying activities after the execution. In the early nineties, Wo Weihan bought critical information and documents on DF-31, from Guo Wanjun, a missile expert who had participated in the design of DF-31. Mr. Wo and Guo's activities resulted in the leakage of the top secret information of the DF-31, including internal design and structure of the missile, causing significant impact on Chinese national security. They both were accused of spying for Taiwan and US intelligence agencies by selling sensitive information on intercontinental ballistic missiles. Neither Taiwan nor US have made an official statement in this regard. According to the verdict released by the High Court of Beijing after the sentencing in March 2008, the charges Wo Weihan was convicted of included: "...discussing the health of senior Chinese leaders." In PRC, the health status of senior leaders is declared top secret. Also included in the verdict were convictions of the smuggling of secret information of PLA's night time equipment. Wo was also accused of copying military photos from a magazine, which was public at the time but later declared classified.

Disputes The execution took place on the final day of the China-EU Human Rights Dialog in Beijing. The US and the EU strongly condemned the execution. “We are deeply disturbed and dismayed by reports that the Chinese government has carried out the death penalty against Wo Weihan,” Susan Stevenson, a spokeswoman at the US embassy in Beijing said. She said that Wo's arrest and trial had fallen short of international standards for due process. “Reportedly Mr Wo did not have access to legal counsel until after the prosecuting officials completed their investigation. His confession was coerced and the charges against him were questionable.” Their executions came at a time when China had been presenting itself as a reformed and more humane state, particularly on the eve of China's Olympic debut. The EU and US response to the executions indicate that the executions severely challenged the credibility of the SPC death penalty review reform, which aimed to reduce the number of executions in China (estimated at 7000 per year). Wo's two daughters, both Austrian citizens, resorted to Austria and EU to first request a fair and transparent trial for their father, and later pleaded for amnesty as the deficiencies in the prosecution of the case became clear. Diplomatic efforts made behind the curtains had no result for three years. Media coverage and an expanded advocacy campaign which included pleas by Condoleezza Rice, President Heinz Fischer of Austria and the EU Troika were also in vain.

Family Wo Weihan's wife and younger daughter saw Wo Weihan on the morning of November 27. None were given official confirmation that the sentence had been approved and that an execution was pending. Wo's elder daughter expected to be able to see her father that week after the Chinese Ministry Foreign Affairs promised to the Austrian Embassy in Beijing that a second visit would be allowed for her. However, Wo was executed on the morning of November 28. This led to very strained relations between the Austrian and Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affair; Austria viewed it as an intentional affront. According to Qin Gang, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,".....Wo Weihan is a Chinese citizen.... He could not be treated in a different way only because he has some foreign relatives." Guo's family were not allowed to visit Guo during the years of imprisonment, and only five days after the execution, which they had found out about through Wo's family, did they receive a notice that they could pick up Guo's ashes.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wo Weihan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wo Weihan claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wo Weihan before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wo Weihan ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wo Weihan

In research: Wo Weihan appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wo Weihan in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wo Weihan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 births, 2008 deaths, 21st-century executions by China, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wo Weihan outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wo Weihan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wo Weihan means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wo Weihan out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wo Weihan in simple terms?

Why does Wo Weihan matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wo Weihan?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wo Weihan.