Singapore man pleads guilty to spying for China in the US amid soaring tensions

As tensions between US-China have grown more intense with the closure of Houston consulate over fears of espionage, a Singaporean man has pleaded guilty to spying for the Chinese intelligence in the United States. The US Department of Justice said in a statement on July 24 that Jun Wei Yeo, also known as Dickson Yeo “entered a plea of guilty today to one count of acting within the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the Attorney General”.

According to Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's National Security Division John C Demers, it is another instance of Chinese government ‘exploiting the openness of US society’. Meanwhile, Michael R Sherwin, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia noted that Yeo's case highlights the ways in which the Chinese government continues to target the US by accessing sensitive government information. 

John C Demers said, “The Chinese Government uses an array of duplicity to obtain sensitive information from unsuspecting Americans. Yeo was central to one such scheme, using career networking sites and a false consulting firm to lure Americans who might be of interest to the Chinese government.  This is yet another example of the Chinese government’s exploitation of the openness of American society.”

“Today’s guilty plea underscores the ways that the Chinese government continues to target Americans with access to sensitive government information, including using the Internet and non-Chinese nationals to target Americans who never leave the United States,” said Michael R Sherwin. “We will continue to prosecute those who use deceptive practices on the Internet and elsewhere to undermine our national security.”

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Timothy R Slater said that Yeo admitted to providing valuable information to Chinese intelligence and knowingly recruiting others in the U.S. to do the same. This comes in the backdrop of US officials announcing in a press briefing that even though consulates are the base of operations for the foreign governments in the US, some can be used for exploitation and ‘espionage activities’.

The official also said, “The Houston consulate was also implicated in an investigation of grant fraud at a Texas research institution. Consulate officials were directly involved in communications with researchers and guided them on what information to collect.” However, the US government order of closing one of the six Chinese missions has been severely criticised by China who reportedly said that “malicious slander” was behind it. 

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China on Houston consulate closure

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the order to close the consulate “violates international law and basic norms governing international relations,” and “seriously undermines China-U.S. relations.” He told the reporters that “this is breaking the bridge of friendship between the Chinese and American people”. Meanwhile, according to the witnesses of international media agency, the consulate staff had left the building after the order came into after at 4 PM (central time) after which the door was forced open.

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