Headquarters of the Ministry of State Security of China in Beijing
Reuters on October 22 quoted the announcement of the Chinese Ministry of State Security saying that a Chinese citizen working for a defense institute has just been accused of spying for the US, in a case that has been transferred to the Chengdu City Court (Sichuan Province) for trial.
The case is the latest to demonstrate China's commitment to national security, expanding anti-espionage laws and tackling corruption at home.
CCTV reported that the suspect was a man surnamed Hou who worked at an unnamed defense institute and was sent to a US university in 2013 as a visiting scholar, where he was forced to reveal Chinese state secrets.
China's Ministry of State Security issued a statement on its WeChat social media account on October 22, saying that "espionage activities go hand in hand with deception, seduction and conspiracy." The information did not name the US university involved.
According to CCTV, an American professor close to Mr. Hou introduced the Chinese scholar to a person who claimed to be an employee of a consulting company, but was actually an "American intelligence officer" using the company's name as a cover.
Over the following months, as they became more friendly, the intelligence officer approached Mr. Hou to invite him to become a consultant at the company, promising to pay between $600 and $700 each time.
A few months later, while Mr. Hou’s wife and son were visiting the United States, the officer revealed his true intentions and proposed a change in the way they cooperated. According to CCTV, Mr. Hou, fearing for the safety of his wife and son, agreed.
Under the agreement, in multiple meetings, Mr. Hou would be asked to reveal important secrets in hours-long sessions and would receive $1,000.
The cooperation continued after Mr. Hou returned to China in 2014, when he met with US intelligence officials while attending international conferences. Mr. Hou also provided intelligence information himself in the defense and military industry sectors.
After an investigation by the Chinese government , Mr. Hou was arrested in July 2021 and prosecuted on espionage charges.
In a previous incident, China's Ministry of State Security said on August 21 that a Chinese citizen was being investigated for allegedly spying for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Accordingly, the 39-year-old citizen surnamed Hac is an official of a government ministry and went to Japan to study. In Japan, this person was accused of being recruited to be a spy for the CIA.
The news comes less than two weeks after China's Ministry of State Security said it had discovered another citizen suspected of spying for the CIA after being recruited in Italy, according to Reuters.
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