China positioned spies in Asian & European countries to lure foreign politicians: Report

A British intelligence report recently made a shocking revelation that China has placed spies in a number of Asian and European countries in a bid to promote China's ideas, thereby bolstering the country's prospects of becoming a global power. MI5, a British military intelligence service, recently revealed that a network of Chinese spies is operating in the United Kingdom with the goal of converting foreign politicians to China's communist ideology.

The issue of China positioning spies in other countries became more evident after Hong Kong-born British barrister Christine Lee, who was frequently noticed in the UK Parliament mingling with ministers and taking photos with the then Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019, who also presented her with an award. However, the award was revoked in January after the MI5 revealed that Lee was functioning for China. Christine Lee admitted to intelligence agencies that she worked as a "legal advisor" to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, media reports revealed.

Espionage has become a primary security concern in Australia

In the meantime, Mike Burgess, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), told local media that espionage and foreign interference have replaced terrorism as their primary security concern, adding that the spy network is being managed by the United Front Work Department, a Chinese Communist Party branch.

Besides UK and Australia, the US is also concerned about China's attempts to sway local leaders to its will. In 2020, William Evanina, the former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Centre of the US, stated that China is stepping up its influence efforts in the US, mounting pressure on political leaders it sees as hostile to China's interests and countering criticism of Beijing.

Intelligence services are increasingly sharing the results of their investigations

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) also said that it is aware of 'continuous and sophisticated threat activity targeting elections for many years now,' and expressed alarm over efforts by countries like Russia and China, according to The Hong Kong Post. In February, a Canadian court found that the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO), a Chinese government body was involved in espionage activities that endangered Canada's interests. Intelligence services are increasingly sharing the results of their investigations with one another in order to improve future collaboration and combat China's plans.

(Inputs from ANI)

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