Category: espionage

Germany Challenges China

Commentary Berlin has revised its approach to Beijing, replacing its once accommodating and sympathetic posture with something more wary and hostile. Washington, no doubt, will claim that Germany has followed America’s lead in making a similar change. But given Berlin’s comprehensive approach, the product of considerable compromise, the Germans seem to have taken the lead, much…


When China’s Economy Slumps, so Does Beijing’s Political Power

Commentary China’s economy is in desperate straits. So desperate that officials in one county in Guangdong Province offered an illegal bribe to U.S. investors. Any U.S. corporate “decision maker” who brings investment, according to The Wall Street Journal, would get 10 percent of the deal’s total value. A $100 million investment by a U.S. company,…


China’s New Anti-Espionage Law Poses Risks for Foreign Businesses

Commentary Under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) new anti-spying law, normal business activities may be considered spying, resulting in foreigners being banned from entering or exiting China. China’s revised Counter-Espionage Law, which went into effect on July 1, prohibits the transfer of information related to national security while also expanding the definition of national security….


US Ambassador to Russia Meets Jailed Wall Street Journal Reporter Gershkovich

American ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was granted access on Monday to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the U.S. State Department said, in the second such visit since his pre-trial detention in March on espionage charges he denies. Tracy met with Gershkovich at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow in what was the first time…


US Ambassador Visits Wall Street Journal Reporter Detained in Russia on Charges of Espionage

MOSCOW—U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy on Monday was allowed to visit Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been behind bars in Russia since March on charges of espionage. Tracy last visited Gershkovich in April. The U.S. Embassy confirmed Monday’s visit but did not immediately provide more information. The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in…


Chinese Hackers Breached Hundreds of Public and Private Networks, Investigation Concludes

Suspected state-backed Chinese hackers used a security hole in a popular email security appliance to break into the networks of hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally, nearly a third of them government agencies, including foreign ministries, cybersecurity firm Mandiant said Thursday. “This is the broadest cyber espionage campaign known to be conducted by…


Top US Chipmaking Equipment Supplier Accuses Chinese-Owned Rival of Trade Secret Theft Campaign

Applied Materials Inc. is suing Chinese-owned rival Mattson over an alleged 14-month orchestrated campaign to steal some of its most valuable intellectual property. The lawsuit mainly centers around Mattson dedicated efforts to lure key staff members away from Applied Materials and the suspicious circumstances coinciding with their departures. In little more than the span of…


High Court Rejects WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange’s Appeal Against Extradition to US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost his appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges after a High Court judge rejected the move. In a three-page decision handed down on June 6, Mr. Justice Swift rejected all eight grounds for appeal of an extradition order signed in June last year by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel, which…


The Shadow War: Chinese Dissidents in the Crosshairs of CCP Overseas Operations

It was a cool, dark evening—as mild as winter could be in South Africa. Nine people just walked out of the gates of the Johannesburg International Airport. They rented two cars and embarked on their way to the neighboring capital of Pretoria. They came with a mission: to file a lawsuit against two visiting Chinese…


IN-DEPTH: Montreal Groups Had Reported Ties to China’s United Front Long Before Being Suspected as Chinese Police Stations

The community organizations in the Montreal area being investigated by the RMCP for hosting suspected Chinese police stations have had formal ties since at least 2016 to a Chinese regime entity which the Canadian government says is involved in espionage. The federal police force indicated in March it’s investigating Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud (CSQRS)…