In recent months, China has returned to the radar of US intelligence after the opening of several investigations that show how the Asian giant has invested in its espionage, including to influence American politics and the economy.
On the FBI website, you can find information that this threat is currently “the top counterintelligence priority.”
One of the most shocking cases in this regard involves the former chief of staff of the governor of New York, Democrat Kathy Hochul, and former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Earlier this month, Chinese woman Linda Sun, a top political advisor, was arrested on charges of conspiring with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) diplomats and officials to obtain benefits in New York. According to prosecutors in the case, she had used her position to promote Beijing’s interests in the state.
Her husband and co-defendant, Chris Hu, was also arrested on charges of conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as well as misuse of means of identification.
“As alleged, although they appeared to serve the people of New York as deputy chief of staff in the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to promote the interests of the Chinese regime and the CCP,” the prosecutor said of the USA, Breon Peace, when the case became public.
The federal government claims that Sun was an unregistered agent of Xi Jinping’s dictatorship and that her husband engaged in money laundering while benefiting from millions of dollars in bribes from Beijing officials.
An excerpt from the indictment states that the former advisor had “a shocking pattern” of collaboration with the Chinese consulate general in New York. Investigations indicate that in 2020 she allegedly allowed a Chinese diplomat to listen to a private conference call with New York authorities about the government’s response to the Covid pandemic.
Another complaint against the alleged spy says that officials from the Chinese regime and the CCP instructed her to restrict Taiwanese leaders from having political relationships with New York authorities. Beijing considers Taiwan’s current government to be a treasonous separatist movement and seeks to annex Taipei.
In 2017, Sun traveled to China on a tour organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, a subsidiary of the United Front Work Department, the CCP’s political influence department, showing his closeness to Xi Jinping’s regime.
Despite being the most emblematic case of recent months, more recently Joe Biden’s government took another decision aimed at dealing with the growing espionage threats coming from Beijing: the ban on vehicles with technology from China and Russia, another country closely monitored by the US. .
The White House’s new proposal comes after a months-long investigation into software and digital connections that could be used to spy on Americans or sabotage vehicles, according to the administration. The measure was classified as “a national security action”.
A newspaper report Financial Times also revealed that the FBI is investigating a California-based investment company controlled by a Chinese billionaire, who is also a member of the Chinese Communist Party and a former official of Xi Jinping’s dictatorship.
Shan Xiangshuang owns Hone Capital, a company being investigated for a “possible transfer of intellectual property to China.”
The FBI’s concern arose after it was identified that the company invested in almost 400 American technology startups, raising suspicions regarding national security amid increased trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Xiangshuang’s company acquired stakes in sensitive areas of Washington, involving critical technologies from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity and supersonic aircraft, according to the report. Financial Times.
At the beginning of the year, the US had already announced the opening of an investigation against Beijing involving surveillance of the American military base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
According to the think tank The Heritage Foundationthere have been at least 14 cases of attempted illegal access or surveillance by Chinese nationals on or near the base since 2018.
#Chinese #espionage #returns #radar