Assassination of Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn: Changes since 2049/10/02

  1. A portrait of Xu Shaoyong smiling for the camera and standing in front of a white background.
    Xu Shaoyong, pictured in 2049.
  2. A photo of Russian businessman Yuri Golitsyn speaking at a press conference, wearing a suit and with a slightly annoyed expression on his face.
    Yuri Golitsyn, pictured in 2049.

Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn.

At 16:51 CST on October 1st 2049, Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn were assassinated when a security drone fired a missile at Xu’s helicopter as it was touching down at Beijing Daxing International Airport, killing everyone aboard. The presence of Golitsyn in the helicopter was not known until October 2nd 2049. It is currently unclear whether Xu, Golitsyn, or both men were the target of the attack.

Chinese authorities are treating the assassination as a cyberattack that compromised the drone to fire a missile at Xu’s helicopter. A joint investigation between the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has established a strong link to Adira. The PLA is coordinating with Zhupao to determine the origin of the cyberattack, which was identified as an Omnius work terminal being used in Chennai, India.

Table of contents

  1. Attack
  2. Investigation
  3. International response
  4. See also
  5. References

Attack

A photo taken of Xu Shaoyong's helicopter moments after it was destroyed by a drone missile impacting the passenger compartment.

Xu Shaoyong’s helicopter at Beijing Daxing International Airport, moments after it was destroyed by a drone missile impacting the passenger compartment.

On October 1st 2049, Xu Shaoyong was due to arrive at Beijing Daxing International Airport at 17:00 CST to greet international dignitaries and other officials arriving for the centenary celebrations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Xu’s private helicopter was coming in for landing on the west side of the airport when a nearby security drone banked away from its patrol route and fired a single missile, which struck the left side of the helicopter’s passenger compartment at 16:51 CST. [1]

The impact and resulting explosion detonated the helicopter, which killed everyone aboard. The wreckage then crashed to the ground from a height of 20 metres. Members of Xu’s welcoming committee and airport staff attempted to approach the helicopter wreckage, but had to retreat due to the heat and flames. Two crash tenders were immediately deployed and managed to extinguish the fire at 17:08 CST.

All of the airport’s security drones were immediately grounded by the local detachment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which operates the drone fleet. The drone that fired the missile, which was closest to Xu’s helicopter at the time of the attack, abandonded its post-fire holding pattern after 34 seconds and touched down near the entrance of a PLA hangar, where a team of soldiers was seen carrying it inside at 16:57 CST.

Between 17:00 and 18:00 CST, Daxing airport was evacuated, all incoming flights were rerouted, and the area around the crash site was cordoned off, with PLA soldiers cautioning fire and rescue crews away from the helicopter wreckage. An investigative team from the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) arrived at 18:25 CST and reportedly clashed with PLA officials after initially not being allowed past their cordon of the crash site. [2] A canopy was erected to cover the wreckage at 19:15 CST.

At 21:15 CST, senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials ordered Daxing airport to resume operations to avoid further disruptions to the scheduled arrivals and departures for the PRC centenary.

Investigation

A promotional photo of a Dragonfly M5-X unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sitting on the tarmac at Beijing Daxing International Airport. The UAV is not equipped for any specific purpose, showing the basic model.

Promotional photo of a Dragonfly M5-X, the type of drone used in the attack.

A joint investigation between the PLA and the MPS is currently treating the incident as a cyberattack. According to a statement from the PLA, the drone’s IFF system was compromised to match Xu’s helicopter to the threat profile of an unauthorised UAV entering the airport’s perimeter and ignoring repeated warnings to turn back. The missile was then fired without authentication from the drone’s human operator. [3]

At 10:00 CST on October 2nd 2049, MPS Police Commissioner General Ren Yinpeng held a press conference to announce that a suspect had been taken into custody and subsequently released, and that there is “a strong link” to Adira. [4] PCG Ren also confirmed that only the bodies of Xu, Golitsyn, and the pilot had been recovered from the helicopter wreckage. This came in response to a report that mentioned four bodies based on a comment from an airport official.

During the press conference, PCG Ren introduced Wei Kailiang as investigative lead, who added that the joint investigation is coordinating with Zhupao officials to determine the origin of the cyberattack. Wei stated that the drone’s G6-linked systems were compromised at 16:50 CST on October 1st 2049, with the source of the intrusion identified as an Omnius work terminal being used in Chennai, India. An Omnius spokesperson stated on October 2nd 2049 that the company is “working at all levels with Chinese authorities,” confirming that one of its contractor accounts had been “improperly used.”

A selfie taken by Deena Kim. She is wearing a grey shirt and backpack while looking into the camera.

Hong Lian was briefly suspected of being responsible for the attack.

PCG Ren did not name the arrested suspect by name, but the announcement from Omnius inadvertently led to their identity being confirmed as Hong Lian, an Omnius contractor who had been arrested in Chennai by the National Security Guard on behalf of Chinese authorities. Hong was subsequently released on October 2nd 2049.

PRC President Chen Baoqiang has publicly requested Hong’s extradition to China, which led to criticism from Indian Prime Minister Jagrati Thass, who reacted by stating that she would “intervene on [Hong]’s behalf,” and that she had not been made aware of the police action in Chennai. [5]

Ziyan UAV, the company that manufactures the type of drone involved in the attack, issued a statement in the evening of October 1st 2049 to disclaim any responsibility for the attack, stating it was impossible for the drone to have “autonomously selected a civilian helicopter as a hostile.” [6]

On October 2nd 2049, Russian state authorities confirmed that one of the bodies recovered from Xu’s helicopter belonged to Yuri Golitsyn. [7] According to Golitsyn’s staff, he had abruptly cancelled his plans to attend the PRC centenary and recalled his advance team, which had been present in Beijing since September 30th 2049. It is not known how Golitsyn was able to remain undetected or board Xu’s helicopter, though witness reports claim it made an unscheduled stop during its flight from Zhupao’s Beijing headquarters. [8]

On October 3rd 2049, Omnius issued a statement to clarify the nature of the cyberattack, explaining that “the request for human authorisation to fire the drone missile did not originate from the terminal of an Omnius contractor. It was inserted as a ticket by an unknown source and sent by a routing algorithm to the contractor, who then marked the ticket as resolved, presumably without looking at its contents.”

International response

President Chen was quickly ushered away from an official function when news of the assassination broke. He has vowed “swift and bloody revenge on those responsible. [China]’s spirit cannot be broken, and those who would try will come to regret their deeds.” Despite assurances from the CCP, many international leaders left the PRC centenary celebrations to stay in their hotel rooms or embassies. [9]

United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Maria Cardoso appeared at a press conference at 22:00 CST on October 1st 2049, urging calm and pledging “the full support of her office.” [10] On her behalf, Interpol reached out to the MPS but has not received a reply, which has been attributed to ongoing tensions between Interpol and China.

Russian President Denis Molchalin, who was in Beijing for the PRC centenary, had returned to Russia before the news of Golitsyn’s presence aboard the downed helicopter broke on October 2nd 2049. He is currently in talks with the CCP to coordinate their countries’ responses, with plans to send an investigative team to Beijing. [11]

Second Advent has begun to incite violence across the United States (US) in response to the death of Xu, resulting in 178 deaths and the destruction of several G6 hubs.

See also

References

  1. Huang, Y. (October 2049). “Breaking: Xu Shaoyong killed by malfunctioning drone.” Xinhua. ↩
  2. Liu, K. (October 2049). “Police and army investigators clash at scene of attack that killed Zhupao founder.” China Daily. ↩
  3. Lawer, J. (October 2049). “PLA issues statement confirming airport drone was hacked by external intrusion.” Associated Press. ↩
  4. Xiaoming, F. (October 2049). “Police Commissioner General Ren Yinpeng announces suspect arrest, claims connection to Adira.” Xinhua. ↩
  5. Milchan, J. (October 2049). “Indian PM blasts Chinese President for demanding extradition of foreign national suspected of being Adira.” The Guardian. ↩
  6. Weilong, L. (October 2049). “Ziyan CEO claims drone platform not at fault, takes aim at PLA and G6.” China News Digest. ↩
  7. Agafonov, B. (October 2049). “President Molchalin announces Yuri Golitsyn as victim of Chinese cyberattack that claimed life of Xu Shaoyong. “ Government.ru. ↩
  8. Fairchild, S. (October 2049). “Chinese police investigating Golitsyn’s movements in Beijing on suspicion of anti-G6 tech.” Wall Street Journal. ↩
  9. Kross, J. (October 2049). “Even in death, Xu Shaoyong manages to upstage Chen Baoqiang.” Al Jazeera. ↩
  10. Liu, K. (October 2049). “UN Secretary-General Cardoso pledges ‘full support of office’ to China.” China Daily. ↩
  11. Mucha, M. (October 2049). “President Molchalin in talks with China for joint investigation into death of Yuri Golitsyn.” TASS. ↩