The British government has quietly expelled three suspected Chinese spies posing as journalists over the past twelve months, according to a British official.
The rare case of journalist spy, first reported by the British newspaper Telegraph and not officially announced by London, is the latest sign of deteriorating relations between two countries that have announced a ‘golden era’ in ties.
The three worked for the Chinese Ministry of State Security but arrived in the country pretending to be employees of three different Chinese media entities, the official said, confirming the Telegraph report. Their real roles were revealed by the British counter-intelligence agency, MI5, and according to the report, they were sent home and confirmed by the official. The media organizations are not identified.
Caution in Western countries over Chinese influence is growing beyond economics, such as trade imbalances and intellectual property protection. Western policymakers, including in the US, increasingly see China’s links to media, telecommunications and education as a threat to national security.
British officials say they have had to adapt in recent years to what they call a serious and growing espionage threat from China, which has long been a target of trade secrets but is increasingly seeking government information. They did not portray the activity as aggressively as Russian espionage, which had been a British focus for decades.
Earlier this week, the British communications regulator deprived the Chinese state-run news network CGTN of its broadcasting license, a major setback in Europe for China’s primary international news channel.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has stirred up British Broadcasting Corp. for news reports that they allegedly smeared the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the treatment of ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang. Beijing has also denounced the UK’s move to provide a path to citizenship for some Hong Kong residents as the two parties save on personal freedoms in the former British colony.
In the US, allegations of Chinese espionage and influence on pressure increased during the Trump administration. It has relied on universities to shut down Confucius-funded institutes funded by Beijing over concerns that they have spread propaganda, and it requires major Chinese news publishers to register as foreign missions, equating them with outposts of government. When he ordered the termination of China’s consulate in Houston, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called it a “caveat of spies.”
China’s media presents Western governments with a particular challenge because they are state – controlled, blurring the vagueness between the collection of information for journalism and state purposes.
As one media investigation into espionage, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in 2017 recommended that Washington designate employees of Chinese newspaper and television groups in the U.S. as foreign government agents, ‘given the fact that Chinese intelligence gathering and Attempts at war with information are known to involve staff of Chinese state-run media organizations. ”
On the latest case in the UK, a spokesman for a group of lawmakers who criticized Beijing called the Interparliamentary Alliance on China: step further and hide spies within their ranks. ”
In Beijing, the past few days have portrayed what it portrayed as British attempts to obstruct the Chinese government and undermine its interests.
The Foreign Office said on Friday that it had lodged a complaint with the BBC office in Beijing over news reports of the Covid-19 response and Xinjiang, calling on the BBC to ‘stop deliberately harassing China’ to smear and attack. ‘
The ministry also threatened to retaliate against Britain’s cancellation of CGTN’s broadcasting license.
“The Chinese side is urging the British side to stop its political manipulations immediately and correct its mistakes,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a routine briefing on Friday.
He does not dispute the British regulator’s ruling that CGTN is ultimately controlled by China’s Communist Party, but rather said that the British authorities have long been aware of how China as a socialist country manages its media.
The response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman was more muted against the allegations about the journalistic spy. Mr. Wang told reporters he was unaware of this, but reiterated Beijing’s view that Chinese media were operating legally in the UK.
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