China’s Ministry of State Security recently alleged that the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service MI6 had recruited Chinese state employees as spies, the BBC reported on 3 June.
The Chinese ministry, in a post on its official WeChat channel, stated that MI6 operatives turned a Chinese man identified only by his surname Wang and his wife surnamed Zhou against Beijing, the report said, adding the duo worked in ‘core confidential’ departments in a Chinese state agency.
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According to the report, the Chinese ministry also alleged the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service began cultivating Wang in 2015 when he went to the UK for his studies under a Sino-British exchange programme.
“Wang was initially hesitant but could not resist [the operatives’] repeated persuasion, enticement and even coercion, and eventually agreed,” BBC quoted the ministry said in a statement on WeChat, that added, “Under Wang’s strong instigation, Zhou agreed to collect intelligence… and he and his wife became British spies.”
Adding more, China said that UK took ‘special care’ of Wang and invited him to dinners. Also, Wang was given tours as the UK operatives wanted to know his interests and weaknesses.
Livemint could not confirm or deny the Chinese ministry’s allegations.
In the meantime, without disclosing further details, China said they learned about this after a ‘thorough investigation’ and said the probe is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the following allegations by the Chinese ministry arrives a month after the UK charged two men with spying for China, where they were accused to giving ‘articles, notes, documents or information’ to a foreign state. China had called the allegations ‘false’.
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Also, in May’s fourth week, a former Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service, was found dead.
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