The Chinese Ministry of State Security recently stated that an employee working in a certain classified department had a habit of taking selfies in the office and uploading them to social media platforms. This employee was later recruited by foreign intelligence agencies and ended up betraying a large amount of classified internal documents. However, some observers have questioned the authenticity of this official account. Some “cases” previously disclosed by the Ministry of State Security have also been deemed unreliable.
On June 14th, China Central Television reported that in April, the Chinese National Security Department announced a “spy” case involving a certain individual named Zhao who worked in a classified unit. Zhao enjoyed taking selfies in the workplace and sharing them on social media platforms, often revealing details about his workplace during interactions with online friends. A “enthusiastic” online acquaintance showed great interest in Zhao’s work, probed for specific work-related information, and offered a large sum of money to “purchase” internal data from Zhao’s unit, even requesting sensitive materials.
According to the report, although Zhao realized that the individual might be a foreign intelligence agent, “tempted by money, he crossed the line and sold a large amount of classified internal documents of the unit.” Zhao has been under investigation.
Guo Min, former deputy director of the Police Station in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, told Radio Free Asia that the Ministry of State Security did not disclose the departments involved in the case, only publicly sharing pictures taken by Zhao in the classified unit’s office without specifying which unit it was from. The vague nature of the disclosed information has raised suspicions.
“There was no mention of leaking classified information. I think there is a higher likelihood of fabrication in such cases. Over the decades, the authorities have created such typical cases, but few are truly believed to be real. These are meant to warn you (netizens) not to become a target and serve as a deterrent.”
Military commentator Lu Jun, residing in the United States, expressed many doubts about the disclosed spy case: “It is clearly a fabricated case. Because it is well known that social media in China is under strict surveillance. Not only are social media platforms monitored by personnel, but there are also departments in the Communist Party’s propaganda sector and public security internet monitoring departments. It is implausible for so-called spies to contact classified personnel through social media and sell intelligence under such strict monitoring.”
The revised Anti-Espionage Law of the Communist Party of China came into effect last July, leading to a campaign of capturing spies, with the Ministry of State Security increasingly releasing so-called national security-related cases.
On January 23rd of this year, the Ministry of State Security disclosed details of a spy case involving a state-owned enterprise employee seduced during an overseas investigation, among other things. However, the authorities did not reveal specific information such as the time, location, and names of those involved, sparking public skepticism. Some Chinese scholars also question whether this is a “vulgar yellow story” self-created by the Ministry of State Security.