- cross-posted to:
- worldnews
- cross-posted to:
- worldnews
Chinese authorities say they have detained an individual alleged to be spying for Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6.
China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) said the individual was a foreigner and was trying to collect information inside the country.
It is the latest arrest in a campaign by Chinese security to clamp down on foreign spying.
The British government has not commented on the claims.
The news of the arrest came in a statement issued in a post from the MSS on the WeChat social network.
It said the alleged spy was named “Huang” and came from a “third country,” implying they were neither British nor Chinese. It said consular visits had been arranged following the arrest but did not say from which country.
China arrests who they want for any number of reasons they often can’t (or won’t) support with evidence … so I take this news with a pound of salt.
You’re not wrong, but maybe you’ve noticed that whenever any country announces they’ve arrested a spy, or foreign intelligence asset, the country they’re accused of spying for always, without fail, denounces it as political persecution and denies the allegations of spying.
So…while there’s recent precedent for political detentions of citizens under false pretense of spying, it’s not like it’s that hard to believe they were a spy.
The only real evidence we have that they aren’t a spy is that they weren’t summarily, and quietly, executed.
We’ll just have to wait and see how they proceed. Will they be used for a prisoner swap of detained Chinese intelligence assets? Or held indefinitely.
Because indefinite detention probably means innocent of spying, and waiting to be used for a political bargaining tool.
Of particular concern to the government is a potential lawsuit from Mr. Spavor that has put a spotlight on Canada’s Global Security Reporting Program, the sources say. Mr. Kovrig, during his time as a Canadian diplomat, worked for the GSRP, a special unit within the intelligence branch of Global Affairs Canada that sends foreign service officers to hot spots to collect security-related information for Ottawa. Mr. Spavor alleges that China arrested and imprisoned him and Mr. Kovrig because he unwittingly provided information to Mr. Kovrig that was shared with Canadian and other Western spy services. Mr. Kovrig has told The Globe that he followed the “standard of laws, rules and regulations governing diplomats.” Mr. Spavor alleges Chinese security forces arrested him because Mr. Kovrig and two other GSRP officers were careless in discussions about him. Mr. Spavor was charged by Chinese prosecutors with spying for a foreign entity and illegally procuring state secrets. Mr. Kovrig was charged with illegally receiving state secrets and intelligence in collaboration with Mr. Spavor.
This link is about the two Michaels so I’m unsure why you’re linking it here.
The comment was about China arbitrarily arresting people for “espionage.” In fact, China has a better track record of finding spies than the Canadian government has of recognizing that their spies were detained.
Removed by mod
The grocery store is usually where I get my salt. Dunno where you have been getting yours…