Chinese intrigue in Roman sauce. Spy enlisted by the CIA arrested
China claims to have discovered “a case of espionage” of one of its citizens who transmitted secret information to the CIA in exchange for money. The Ministry of State Security identified the 52-year-old man with the surname Zeng. “After a thorough investigation, the state security authorities obtained evidence of Zeng’s spying activities and in accordance with the law have taken coercive measures to eliminate the damage in a timely manner,” the ministry said in a statement.
In the note it is explained that the alleged spy was sent to Italy for study purposes and here fraternized with a CIA agent from the US embassy in Rome. He allegedly convinced Zeng to administer “sensitive military information” to China in exchange for “a large sum” as compensation and help him and his family move to the United States.
According to the Chinese authorities, Zeng also signed a contract with the Americans and received training before returning to the country. L‘affaire is currently the subject of great attention in Chinese public opinion and is among the trending topics of the Weibo social platform. Beijing has passed a more stringent anti-espionage law which has disturbed relations with many US companies operating in China.
Under the crackdown, an unauthorized possession of “documents, data, materials and items related to national security and interests” is enough to incur charges of espionage. The new rules have raised “legitimate concerns about the conduct of some routine business activities, which now risk being considered espionage,” wrote Craig Allen, president of the Sino-American Chamber of Commerce in his blog. “Confidence in the Chinese market will suffer first if the law is applied frequently and without clear, close and direct connection with universally recognized espionage activities“, he added.
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