Chinese intelligence activity in other countries
Encyclopedia
Chinese intelligence is believed to be highly active outside of the People's Republic of China
. China is the largest intelligence collector in the Netherlands
, as well as in several other EU countries, and one of the top five intelligence collectors in the United States
. Chinese human-intelligence operations primarily rely on collecting a small amount of information from a large number of people.
organizations by employing primarily academics or students who will be in their host country only a short time, rather than spending years cultivating a few high-level sources or double agent
s. Much information about the Chinese intelligence services comes from defectors, whom the PRC accuses of lying to promote an anti-PRC agenda. One known exception to this rule is the case of Katrina Leung
, who was accused of starting an affair with an FBI agent to gain sensitive documents from him. A U.S. judge dismissed all charges against her due to prosecutorial misconduct.
The United States believes the Chinese military has been developing network technology in recent years in order to perform espionage on other nations. Several cases of computer intrusions suspected of Chinese involvement have been found in various countries including Australia
, New Zealand
, France
, Germany
, the Netherlands
, the United Kingdom
, India
and the United States.
In 2009, Canadian
researchers say they have found evidence that Chinese hackers had gained access to computers possessed by government and private organizations in 103 countries, although researchers say there is no conclusive evidence China's government was behind it. Beijing
also denied involvement. The researchers said the computers penetrated include those of the Dalai Lama
and Tibet
an exiles.
Ira Winkler, a former National Security Agency
staff and a security consultant, said that Chinese intelligence operatives work by approaching ethnic Chinese by reminding them of "Chinese heritage, telling them they must help".
Two diplomats who defected in Australia
have claimed that China operates more than 1,000 spies and informants in Australia alone; their mission, they said, is industrial espionage
but also disruption of the Falun Gong movement. China accused them of lying so they could stay in Australia. Canadian businessman Joe Wang believes that threatening letters he received after broadcasting programs about alleged human rights abuses in China were from the Chinese consulate; one of the envelopes contained boric acid
. In November 2005 the United States
arrested four people in Los Angeles
on suspicion of being involved in a Chinese spy ring.
Taiwanese-American scientist Wen Ho Lee
(born in Nantou
, Taiwan
December 21, 1939) was accused and investigated on the grounds of espionage in 1999 but was acquitted of all charges except for mishandling classified data. Chinese "Subtle Spying" practice avoids and defends against the United States' prosecution-heavy investigative counterintelligence procedures by introducing large elements of plausible deniability and obfuscating the line between deliberate and unintentional espionage activities.
activities on several other nations and regions.
Belgian Justice Minister Jo Vandeurzen
accused the Chinese government of electronic espionage against the government of Belgium, while Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht
informed the Belgian Federal Parliament
that his ministry was hacked by Chinese agents. The espionage is possibly linked to Belgium hosting the headquarters of NATO and the European Union
. The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
in Leuven
was also believed to be the center for a group of Chinese students in Europe conducting industrial espionage.
There have been several incidents of suspected Chinese spies in France
. This includes Shi Pei Pu
, a Chinese
opera singer from Beijing
who convinced a French diplomat that he was a woman, and spied on France. French media also portrayed Li Li (李李), a 22-year-old Chinese intern at car parts maker Valeo
, as an industrial spy. Both the French prosecution and Valeo refuted media claims of spying and the case is later considered to be a psychosis.
Germany
suspects that China has stolen billions of euros worth of business secrets, according to Berthold Stoppelkamp, head of the ASW association for economic security, and also spied on Uighur
expatriates living in the country. Chinese hackers
have been suspected of using Trojan horse spyware
on various government computers, including those of the Chancellory. In 2011, a German was charged with spying on Uighurs in Munich
.
In May 2009, Stefan Zielonka, a Polish
cipher
officer working for the Military Information Services
, disappeared. He is suspected of providing the Chinese government with Polish and NATO cryptography
information. Zielonka's body was later retrieved from the Vistula
river, although investigators remain uncertain as to whether Zielonka was attempting to defect or commit suicide.
In December 2007, Igor Reshetin, the Chief Executive of Tsniimash-Export, and three researchers were sentenced to prison for passing on dual-purpose technology to the Chinese. Analysts speculated that the leaked technology could help China develop improved missiles and accelerate the Chinese space program
. In September 2010, the Russian Federal Security Service detained two scientists working at the Baltic State Technical University
in Saint Petersburg
. The two are charged with passing on classified information to China, possibly through the Harbin Engineering University
.
Babur Maihesuti, a Chinese Uighur
who became a Swedish citizen was arrested for spying on the Uighur refugee communities in Sweden
, Norway
, Germany
and the United States
, and ultimately sentenced for illegal espionage activity.
UK officials, including experts at its MI5
intelligence agency, are fearful that China could shut down businesses in the nation with Chinese cyber attacks and spy equipment embedded in computer and telecommunications equipment.
India
has quietly informed companies to avoid using Chinese-made telecommunications equipment, fearing that it may have spy capabilities embedded within it. And, India's intelligence service, Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW) believes that China is using dozens of study centers that it has set up in Nepal
near the Indian border in part for the purposes of spying on India.
Some people in Nepal
suspected that Gyanendra was responsible for the Nepalese royal massacre
in liaison with Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China on June 1, 2001, and that he had blamed Dipendra so that he could assume the throne himself.
In Sri Lanka
, Jayalalithaa Jayaram - head of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
- stated that Chinese laborers working in parts of the country devastated by the Sri Lankan Civil War
were infiltrated with Chinese spies on surveillance missions targeted at Tamil Nadu
, India
.
The PRC and Taiwan regularly accuse each other of spying. Presidential aide Wang Jen-ping was found in 2009 to have sold nearly 100 confidential documents to China since 2007; Military intelligence officer Lo Chi-cheng was found to have been acting as a double agent in 2010 for China since 2007; Maj. Gen. Lo Hsien-che
, electronic communications and information bureau chief during the administration of former President Chen Shui-bian, has been suspected of selling military secrets to Mainland China since 2004.
, more than in any other country outside China. The Canadian government fears that the Chinese have stolen considerable business and industrial secrets from the country. The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Richard Fadden
declared in a television interview that various Canadian politicians at provincial and municipal levels had ties to Chinese intelligence, but he withdrew the statement a few days later.
against military and industrial secrets, often resorting to direct espionage, exploitation of commercial entities, and a network of scientific, academic, and business contacts. Several U.S. citizens have been convicted for spying for China. Naturalized citizen Dongfan Chung, an engineer working with Boeing
, was the first person convicted under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996
. Chung is suspected of having passed on classified information on designs including the Delta IV rocket, F-15 Eagle
, B-52 Stratofortress
and the CH-46 and CH-47 helicopters.
China’s espionage and cyber attacks against the US government and business organizations are a major concern, according to the seventh annual report (issued Sept 2009) to the US Congress of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. “Although attribution is a problem in cyber attacks, the scale and coordination of the attacks strongly indicates Chinese state involvement,” said commission vice chairman Larry Wortzel. “In addition to harming U.S. interests, Chinese human and cyber espionage activities provide China with a method for leaping forward in economic, technological, and military development.” The report cited that the number of cyber attacks from China against the US Department of Defense computer systems had grown from 43,880 in 2007 to 54,640 in 2008, a nearly 20 percent increase. Reuters reported that the Commission found that the Chinese government has placed many of its computer network responsibilities under the direction of the People's Liberation Army
, and was using the data mostly for military purposes. In response, China slammed the report as “full of prejudice,” and warning it could damage China-US relations. "We advise this so-called commission not to always view China through tinted glasses," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
believes that Chinese have been spying on Australian businesses and the Falun Gong
movement. A former Chinese diplomat has claimed that he spied for China and that China has 1000 spies in Australia.
, perhaps with help from the Cuba
n government.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. China is the largest intelligence collector in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, as well as in several other EU countries, and one of the top five intelligence collectors in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Chinese human-intelligence operations primarily rely on collecting a small amount of information from a large number of people.
Method of operation
It is generally believed that Chinese intelligence agencies operate differently from other espionageEspionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
organizations by employing primarily academics or students who will be in their host country only a short time, rather than spending years cultivating a few high-level sources or double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
s. Much information about the Chinese intelligence services comes from defectors, whom the PRC accuses of lying to promote an anti-PRC agenda. One known exception to this rule is the case of Katrina Leung
Katrina Leung
Katrina Leung was a former high value Federal Bureau of Investigation and PRC Ministry of State Security agent who, on April 9, 2003, was indicted by the United States Department of Justice for "Unauthorized Copying of National Defense Information with Intent to Injure or Benefit a Foreign...
, who was accused of starting an affair with an FBI agent to gain sensitive documents from him. A U.S. judge dismissed all charges against her due to prosecutorial misconduct.
The United States believes the Chinese military has been developing network technology in recent years in order to perform espionage on other nations. Several cases of computer intrusions suspected of Chinese involvement have been found in various countries including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the United States.
In 2009, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
researchers say they have found evidence that Chinese hackers had gained access to computers possessed by government and private organizations in 103 countries, although researchers say there is no conclusive evidence China's government was behind it. Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
also denied involvement. The researchers said the computers penetrated include those of the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an exiles.
Ira Winkler, a former National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
staff and a security consultant, said that Chinese intelligence operatives work by approaching ethnic Chinese by reminding them of "Chinese heritage, telling them they must help".
Objectives
It is believed that Chinese espionage is aimed at gaining commercial, technological, and military secrets.Two diplomats who defected in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
have claimed that China operates more than 1,000 spies and informants in Australia alone; their mission, they said, is industrial espionage
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
but also disruption of the Falun Gong movement. China accused them of lying so they could stay in Australia. Canadian businessman Joe Wang believes that threatening letters he received after broadcasting programs about alleged human rights abuses in China were from the Chinese consulate; one of the envelopes contained boric acid
Boric acid
Boric acid, also called hydrogen borate or boracic acid or orthoboric acid or acidum boricum, is a weak acid of boron often used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor of other chemical compounds. It exists in the form of colorless crystals or a...
. In November 2005 the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
arrested four people in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on suspicion of being involved in a Chinese spy ring.
Taiwanese-American scientist Wen Ho Lee
Wen Ho Lee
Dr. Wen Ho Lee is a Taiwan-born Taiwanese American scientist who worked for the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He created simulations of nuclear explosions for the purposes of scientific inquiry, as well as for improving the safety and reliability of the US nuclear...
(born in Nantou
Nantou
Nantou may refer to:* Nantou County - central Taiwan, Republic of China* Nantou City - a city in Nantou County, Taiwan Province, Republic of China...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
December 21, 1939) was accused and investigated on the grounds of espionage in 1999 but was acquitted of all charges except for mishandling classified data. Chinese "Subtle Spying" practice avoids and defends against the United States' prosecution-heavy investigative counterintelligence procedures by introducing large elements of plausible deniability and obfuscating the line between deliberate and unintentional espionage activities.
Intelligence activity worldwide
In recent years, the Chinese government is thought to have played a key role in conducting espionageEspionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
activities on several other nations and regions.
Europe
- Belgium
Belgian Justice Minister Jo Vandeurzen
Jo Vandeurzen
Johan Maria Gerardus "Jo" Vandeurzen is a Belgian politician, member of Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams , a centrist Flemish Christian Democratic party. He was the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and Institutional Reforms in the Leterme I Government , which took office on 20...
accused the Chinese government of electronic espionage against the government of Belgium, while Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht
Karel De Gucht
Karel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht is a Belgian politician who has been the European Commissioner for Trade since 2010...
informed the Belgian Federal Parliament
Belgian Federal Parliament
The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...
that his ministry was hacked by Chinese agents. The espionage is possibly linked to Belgium hosting the headquarters of NATO and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
in Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
was also believed to be the center for a group of Chinese students in Europe conducting industrial espionage.
- France
There have been several incidents of suspected Chinese spies in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. This includes Shi Pei Pu
Shi Pei Pu
Shi Pei Pu was a Chinese opera singer from Beijing. He became a spy who obtained secrets during a 20-year long sexual affair in which he convinced an employee in the French Embassy that he was a woman, later producing a child that he insisted had been born through their relations. The story made...
, a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
opera singer from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
who convinced a French diplomat that he was a woman, and spied on France. French media also portrayed Li Li (李李), a 22-year-old Chinese intern at car parts maker Valeo
Valeo
Valeo is a French automotive components manufacturer.-History:The Société Anonyme Française du Ferodo was founded in 1923 in Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris...
, as an industrial spy. Both the French prosecution and Valeo refuted media claims of spying and the case is later considered to be a psychosis.
- Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
suspects that China has stolen billions of euros worth of business secrets, according to Berthold Stoppelkamp, head of the ASW association for economic security, and also spied on Uighur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
expatriates living in the country. Chinese hackers
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
have been suspected of using Trojan horse spyware
Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...
on various government computers, including those of the Chancellory. In 2011, a German was charged with spying on Uighurs in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
- Poland
In May 2009, Stefan Zielonka, a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
officer working for the Military Information Services
Military Information Services
Military Information Services was a common name for the Polish military intelligence and counter-intelligence agency. The agency was created in 1990 after the Revolutions of 1989 ended the Communist regime as a merger between the former Communist agencies Internal Military Service and the Second...
, disappeared. He is suspected of providing the Chinese government with Polish and NATO cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
information. Zielonka's body was later retrieved from the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
river, although investigators remain uncertain as to whether Zielonka was attempting to defect or commit suicide.
- Russia
In December 2007, Igor Reshetin, the Chief Executive of Tsniimash-Export, and three researchers were sentenced to prison for passing on dual-purpose technology to the Chinese. Analysts speculated that the leaked technology could help China develop improved missiles and accelerate the Chinese space program
Chinese space program
The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration . Its technological roots can be traced back to the late 1950s, when the People's Republic began a rudimentary ballistic missile program in response to perceived American threats...
. In September 2010, the Russian Federal Security Service detained two scientists working at the Baltic State Technical University
Baltic State Technical University
Baltic State Technical University "Voenmeh" D.F.Ustinov is a major Russian military technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. Previously it was known as the Leningrad Mechanical Institute and Military Mechanical Institute .-Faculties:...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. The two are charged with passing on classified information to China, possibly through the Harbin Engineering University
Harbin Engineering University
Harbin Engineering University was founded in 1953, in Harbin, China. It used to host the PLA Military Engineering Institute, China's foremost institute in that field. Following the deterioration of China's relations with the USSR after the Sino-Soviet border conflict, it divided into six...
.
- Sweden
Babur Maihesuti, a Chinese Uighur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
who became a Swedish citizen was arrested for spying on the Uighur refugee communities in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and ultimately sentenced for illegal espionage activity.
- United Kingdom
UK officials, including experts at its MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
intelligence agency, are fearful that China could shut down businesses in the nation with Chinese cyber attacks and spy equipment embedded in computer and telecommunications equipment.
Asia
- India
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
has quietly informed companies to avoid using Chinese-made telecommunications equipment, fearing that it may have spy capabilities embedded within it. And, India's intelligence service, Research and Analysis Wing
Research and Analysis Wing
The Research and Analysis Wing is India's external intelligence agency. It was formed in September 1968 after the poor performance of the Intelligence Bureau in the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and the India-Pakistani war of 1965 convinced the then government of India that a specialized, independent...
(RAW) believes that China is using dozens of study centers that it has set up in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
near the Indian border in part for the purposes of spying on India.
- Nepal
Some people in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
suspected that Gyanendra was responsible for the Nepalese royal massacre
Nepalese royal massacre
The Nepalese royal massacre occurred on Friday, June 1, 2001, at a house in the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, then the residence of the Nepalese monarchy, when the heir to the throne, Prince Dipendra killed nine members of his family and himself. However, it hasn't been proven that...
in liaison with Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China on June 1, 2001, and that he had blamed Dipendra so that he could assume the throne himself.
- Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Jayalalithaa Jayaram - head of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
- stated that Chinese laborers working in parts of the country devastated by the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
were infiltrated with Chinese spies on surveillance missions targeted at Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
- Taiwan
The PRC and Taiwan regularly accuse each other of spying. Presidential aide Wang Jen-ping was found in 2009 to have sold nearly 100 confidential documents to China since 2007; Military intelligence officer Lo Chi-cheng was found to have been acting as a double agent in 2010 for China since 2007; Maj. Gen. Lo Hsien-che
Lo Hsien-che
Major General Lo Hsieh-che was the head of the electronic communications and information department in the Republic of China Army until his arrest in early 2011 on charges of spying for the People's Republic of China...
, electronic communications and information bureau chief during the administration of former President Chen Shui-bian, has been suspected of selling military secrets to Mainland China since 2004.
Canada
Former Chineses spies have reported that China has more than 1000 spies in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, more than in any other country outside China. The Canadian government fears that the Chinese have stolen considerable business and industrial secrets from the country. The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
Richard Fadden
Richard Fadden
Richard B. Fadden is the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service , a position he has held since June 2009. He was previously the Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada from 2006 to 2009....
declared in a television interview that various Canadian politicians at provincial and municipal levels had ties to Chinese intelligence, but he withdrew the statement a few days later.
United States
China is suspected of having a long history of espionage in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
against military and industrial secrets, often resorting to direct espionage, exploitation of commercial entities, and a network of scientific, academic, and business contacts. Several U.S. citizens have been convicted for spying for China. Naturalized citizen Dongfan Chung, an engineer working with Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, was the first person convicted under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996
Economic Espionage Act of 1996
The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 was a 6 title Act of Congress dealing with a wide range of issues, including not only industrial espionage , but the insanity defense, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, requirements for presentence investigation reports, and the United...
. Chung is suspected of having passed on classified information on designs including the Delta IV rocket, F-15 Eagle
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
, B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
and the CH-46 and CH-47 helicopters.
China’s espionage and cyber attacks against the US government and business organizations are a major concern, according to the seventh annual report (issued Sept 2009) to the US Congress of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. “Although attribution is a problem in cyber attacks, the scale and coordination of the attacks strongly indicates Chinese state involvement,” said commission vice chairman Larry Wortzel. “In addition to harming U.S. interests, Chinese human and cyber espionage activities provide China with a method for leaping forward in economic, technological, and military development.” The report cited that the number of cyber attacks from China against the US Department of Defense computer systems had grown from 43,880 in 2007 to 54,640 in 2008, a nearly 20 percent increase. Reuters reported that the Commission found that the Chinese government has placed many of its computer network responsibilities under the direction of the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, and was using the data mostly for military purposes. In response, China slammed the report as “full of prejudice,” and warning it could damage China-US relations. "We advise this so-called commission not to always view China through tinted glasses," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
Australia
AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
believes that Chinese have been spying on Australian businesses and the Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
movement. A former Chinese diplomat has claimed that he spied for China and that China has 1000 spies in Australia.
Latin America
Experts believe that China has recently increased its spy capabilities in Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, perhaps with help from the Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n government.
See also
- GhostNetGhostNetGhostNet is the name given by researchers at the Information Warfare Monitor to a large-scale cyber spying operation discovered in March 2009. The operation is likely associated with an Advanced Persistent Threat...
- Cyberwarfare
- Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China
- Economic and Industrial EspionageIndustrial espionageIndustrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
External links
- US China Security and Review Commission, 2009 annual report see Chapter 2 on China's activities impacting US security interests
- Senate panel: 80 percent of cyberattacks preventable, Wired, Nov 17 2009
- "From China With Love", a PBS Frontline program.
- "U.S. charges pair as China spies", CNN.com, February 10, 2006.
- "Four arrests linked to Chinese spy ring", The Washington Times, November 5, 2005.
- "FBI Sees Big Threat from Chinese Spies; Businesses Wonder", The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2005.
- "Chinese Spies Targeted Toronto Woman", The Epoch Times, June 16, 2005.
- "Defectors say China running 1,000 spies in Canada", CBC News, June 15, 2005.
- "China says defector lying to stay in Australia", Reuters, June 5, 2005.
- "Chinese students running ‘spy network’ in Europe", The Peninsula, May 12, 2005.
- "China "suspected of spying at Swedish universities"", The Local, May 9, 2005.
- "China aims spy network at trade secrets in Europe", The Telegraph, May 7, 2005.
- "Operation Sidewinder: In Canada spies are us", The Canada Free Press, January 26, 2005.
- "Catching Chinese Spies", Accuracy in Media, October 23, 2003.
- "Taiwanese charged as Chinese spies", BBC News, September 26, 2002.
- "U.S. 'fabricating' China threat", CNN.com, July 23, 2002.
- "Spy Hysteria", Asian Week, March 25, 1999.