China’s spy agency yesterday said it detained the head of a foreign consultancy for spying for the British Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security said in a WeChat post that MI6 had since 2015 been cooperating with a foreign national with the surname Huang (黃) to establish an “intelligence cooperation relationship.”
Huang, who headed a foreign consulting agency, “entered China several times under instructions to use their public profile as a cover to collect China-related intelligence for Britain ... and seek other personnel whom MI6 could turn,” it said.
Photo: AP
Huang, who is a citizen of a third nation, allegedly passed 17 pieces of intelligence, including confidential state secrets, to MI6 before he was identified, it said.
The ministry also claimed he had received “professional intelligence training” in the UK, and had used “specialist spying equipment” to send communications.
An investigation had “promptly discovered criminal evidence that Huang was engaged in espionage activities, and took criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law,” it said.
The statement did not provide further details of Huang’s identity or employer, or describe their current condition or whereabouts.
The British government has yet to comment on the allegations, but they follow a deterioration of relations between the sides sparked in part by British opposition to Chinese investments in the UK, especially in the power and communications industries where the Chinese Communist Party exercises strong influence.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to provide further comment when asked about the case at a regular news briefing.
China and the UK have traded barbs in the past few months over allegations of perceived espionage and its resulting effect on national security.
London has warned that Chinese spies are increasingly targeting officials, allegations that Beijing has denied.
A researcher at the British parliament was arrested last year under the Official Secrets Act and subsequently denied spying for Beijing.
China, which has a broad definition of state secrets, has publicized several other alleged spying cases in the past few months.
In May last year, authorities sentenced 78-year-old American John Shing-wan Leung (梁成運) to life in prison for espionage, although Beijing has not provided substantial details of his case.
In October last year, the Chinese Ministry of State Security published the story of another alleged spy, surnamed Hou (侯), who was accused of sending several secret and classified documents to the US.
China last year also raided a string of big-name consulting, research and due diligence firms.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS