China's Ministry of State Security said it had detained two Chinese nationals for allegedly being part of an espionage plot launched by UK intelligence service MI6.
The Ministry said that an employee of a Chinese government agency, surnamed Wang, and a woman surnamed Zhou had been detained, according to an official statement published on the WeChat social network.
The Chinese authorities accused MI6 of intervening to ensure that, in 2015, Wang's application for an exchange program between China and the UK was approved, allowing the official to study abroad.
After arriving in the UK, MI6 allegedly organized various activities for Wang, including invitations to dinners and sightseeing tours, “with the aim of identifying weaknesses and preferences”, the Ministry claimed.
Sensing a “strong inclination for money”, MI6 agents, posing as alumni of Wang's university, approached the Chinese national and offered him a supposed consultancy opportunity, the statement said.
MI6 allegedly offered significantly higher pay than usual to encourage Wang to take part in public research projects, as a pretext for gradually involving him in matters linked to the Chinese government agency where he had worked, the Ministry said.
In the statement, MI6 is accused of providing “specialized training” in espionage to Wang, who was pressured to return to China and collect confidential information, as well as to recruit his wife.
The Ministry said that Wang and Zhou were arrested following an investigation that dismantled a “major MI6 espionage operation within the Chinese internal system”, although other investigations related to this case will continue.
The other way around, suspect dead
This announcement came ten days after the British courts charged the director of Hong Kong's trade office in London, Chung Biu Yuen, and another man, Peter Wai Chi Leung, with helping the authorities in the Chinese special administrative region to gather information in the UK.
A third suspect, British national Matthew Trickett, was also charged in the case, but was found dead on May 19 in a park, in circumstances that the police were unable to explain.
Last year, China revised its anti-espionage law to include “collaboration with espionage organizations and agents” in the category of espionage.
In addition to the investigations launched in recent months into consulting firms and foreign companies in China, which have raised concerns among the industry and potential foreign investors, the Ministry has also revised other legislation to safeguard state secrets.
The agency has also reinforced warnings on Chinese social media about the threat posed by “foreign spies”, asking the public to share information about “suspicious activities”.
