Suspects caught trying to work with foreign spies

State security organs across China have recently handled cases involving several suspects who attempted to sell classified information to foreign spy and intelligence agencies, the Ministry of State Security revealed on Monday.

Facing financial difficulties, the suspects actively reached out to these agencies to offer state secrets for monetary gain, the ministry said.

In one case, a suspect surnamed Zhong, who had previously worked for a subsidiary of a classified unit, contacted a foreign intelligence agency via its official website, seeking collaboration.

Zhong made the move in an effort to ease financial pressure after his entrepreneurial venture failed and his bank accounts were frozen. The foreign agency quickly responded, collecting Zhong's personal information and requesting details about the classified unit. Zhong falsely claimed to be a leader of the unit and disclosed information about a classified project he had worked on in the past.

Through a thorough investigation, state security authorities gathered evidence of Zhong's illegal activities and apprehended him before he could meet with foreign agency personnel, effectively eliminating potential risks.

In another case, an employee surnamed Qi, who worked on classified projects, took advantage of his position and secretly copied and photographed confidential materials. After incurring significant financial losses from failed investments, Qi sought to make money by selling state secrets.

Qi accessed the official website of a foreign intelligence agency to pledge allegiance and even took original copies of classified materials home to photograph and send to the agency.

Following an investigation, state security authorities confirmed that Qi's possessions included materials with state secrets. He was sentenced to two years and three months in prison and was deprived of his political rights for one year for stealing state secrets on behalf of foreign entities.

In a third case disclosed by the MSS, an unemployed man surnamed Song tried to work with a foreign agency, offering to trade classified information for money after failing to secure a job.

Song downloaded publicly available information from a scientific research institution and contacted a foreign intelligence agency through its official website. Falsely claiming to be a researcher with access to critical scientific and technical materials, he expressed his willingness to cooperate with the agency.

State security authorities discovered his efforts. Although the materials he attempted to provide did not contain state secrets, his voluntary pledge of allegiance to a foreign spy agency violated China's Counter-Espionage Law.

Song was issued administrative penalties in accordance with the law.

The MSS said that under the Counter-Espionage Law, people who steal, spy on, illegally purchase or provide state secrets or intelligence to overseas organizations, institutions or individuals can face imprisonment of five to 10 years. In especially severe cases, offenders may be sentenced to more than 10 years or even life imprisonment.