China on Friday (August 11) claimed to have recently uncovered a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) “case of espionage” which involved a Chinese national named Zeng who provided “core secret information” for money.
Beijing has been making efforts to combat spying, which includes the implementation of a revised anti-espionage law last month which gives more power to the authorities than ever to punish what looks like threats to national security.
“After meticulous investigation, the state security authority obtained evidence of Zeng’s espionage activities and, in accordance with the law, took coercive measures against him to eliminate the harm in a timely manner,” said Beijing’s Ministry of State Security, in a statement published online.
However, no details on the punishment of Zeng were provided. The statement read that 52-year-old Zeng was sent to Italy for studies, where he made friends with a CIA agent who was stationed at the US embassy in Rome.
Zeng was convinced by the individual to provide “sensitive information on the (Chinese) military” in exchange for “a huge amount of compensation” as well as assistance for Zeng and his family to shift to the United States.
As per reports, Zeng signed a contract with the US side and was provided training before he returned to China to carry out the espionage activity. In China, the case quickly gathered widespread attention as it reached the top of the trending topics list on the social media site Weibo on Friday morning.
The revision of the anti-espionage law by Beijing has spooked many US businesses that have operations in China, as relations between the two nations continue the downward spiral.
Under the changes, “relying on espionage organisations and their agents” as well as the unauthorised obtaining of “documents, data, materials, and items related to national security and interests” can be considered a spying offence.
The changes “have raised legitimate concerns about conducting certain routine business activities, which now risk being considered espionage”, wrote Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, in a recent blog.
“Confidence in China’s market will suffer further if the law is applied frequently and without a clear, narrow and direct link to activities universally recognised as espionage,” Allen added.
