Espionage, what’s happening between China and the United Kingdom
China has accused a married couple of carrying out espionage operations on behalf of UK intelligence. All the details
The spy conflict between China and the United Kingdom intensified last week, as the Chinese government accused a married couple of carrying out spy missions on behalf of British intelligence. In a rare press statement, China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) said it was investigating the activities of a husband-and-wife team accused of working as assets for Britain's secret intelligence service, known as MI6.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE CHINA-UK SPYING CASE
According to the MSS statement, the husband, whose surname is Wang, participated in a student exchange program in the United Kingdom in 2015. During his stay, he was secretly approached by MI6 and was invited to dinners and other outings . Subsequently, Wang was offered part-time employment as a consultant for a British company operating as a front for MI6. Later, he was contacted directly by MI6 and was recruited as a spy in exchange for substantial monetary rewards.
Wang was reportedly trained in espionage techniques and returned to China to gather intelligence on the Chinese government for MI6. The MSS says Wang's MI6 handlers asked him to also recruit his wife, whose surname is Zhou, as a spy. Eventually, both Wang and Zhou would carry out espionage work for MI6 in exchange for money. It is unclear whether the alleged spies worked for the MSS or another intelligence-related government agency.
The MSS press release was issued just days after the agency disclosed a seemingly unrelated espionage case involving “a former government employee who was attracted to a foreign intelligence agency through the Internet” and who “stole secrets for money”. The MSS also said the man's handler, named Xiao Jing, was arrested and accused of operating as a "spy for a foreign intelligence agency."
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/cybersecurity/spionaggio-cosa-sta-succedendo-tra-cina-e-regno-unito/ on Tue, 04 Jun 2024 05:34:51 +0000.