Beijing accuses government employee of espionage for Washington
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A CIA operative persuaded a 39-year-old to start spying for the US agency as he was about to return to China.
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A US and a Chinese flag wave outside a commercial building in Beijing, on July 9, 2007 (AFP)
China, on Monday, accused a government employee of spying for the United States, the second incident of espionage it has announced in a month.
Beijing implemented a revised anti-espionage law last month that gives authorities more power than ever to punish threats to national security.
The case announced Monday, which is still under investigation, involves a 39-year-old named Hao who worked for an unspecified ministry, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) indicated in a statement.
Hao was studying in Japan when he became acquainted with a US embassy employee during a visa application and developed "a close relationship" with him, the Ministry said.
The man then introduced Hao to another colleague, an operative of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who persuaded Hao to start spying for the US agency as he was about to return to China, it added.
Hao signed a contract and received US training, before getting a job in government as per the CIA operative's instructions, according to the MSS.
Hao "made several secret contacts with CIA personnel within the country to provide intelligence and collect espionage funds" while working there, before he was found out, the Ministry noted.
Earlier in August, the MSS published details of a CIA espionage case involving a 52-year-old called Zeng who provided "core secret information" for money.
Zeng had been sent to Italy to study, where he befriended a CIA agent stationed at the US embassy in Rome.
The agent convinced Zeng to provide "sensitive information on the (Chinese) military" in exchange for "a huge amount of compensation" and assistance for Zeng and his family to move to the United States, the MSS explained.
On August 11, China announced it had recently uncovered a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) "case of espionage" involving a Chinese national named Zeng who provided "core secret information" in return for money.
"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," Beijing's Ministry of State Security confirmed on its WeChat page.
On July 1, China introduced a new anti-espionage law, which redefines espionage on a broader scale and empowers to prosecute diverse threats to national security.
US officials have condemned China's new law as "authoritarian": such that it grants the Chinese state more leeway in interpreting threats to national security.
In December 2022, the law was pitched for public comment. In April, the amendments were approved by the National People's Congress.
