China has accused the British Secret Intelligence Service MI6 of turning two of its state officials into spies for the British government. Beijing made this accusation in a statement which was released by the country’s State Security Ministry on Monday.
The ministry noted that the two Chinese officials were staff members of unnamed Chinese central state organs and mentioned that the case against the two spies is under investigation. The two officials were a married couple who were allegedly recruited by the British intelligence agency, the Global Times reported.
While the authorities did not identify the officials, in their statement posted on WeChat, they mentioned that the case involved MI6 recruiting an employee surnamed Wang and his spouse surnamed Zhou.
The backstory
According to the Global Times, Wang applied to participate in a China-UK exchange program to study in the United Kingdom back in 2016. Upon his arrival, the MI6 arranged for personnel to provide him with special attention, including dining invitations and sightseeing tours, to understand his personality weaknesses and hobbies.
The intelligence personnel befriended him and eventually offered him a part-time consulting opportunity with high compensation. Tempted by financial incentives, Wang agreed to engage in “paid consulting”.
Despite being suspicious of the British motives, Wang continued to provide part-time consulting with high compensation. Tempted by financial incentives, Wang agreed to engage in paid consulting.
As per the Chinese authorities, MI6 provided professional spy training for Wang and instructed him to return to China to gather important intelligence.
What about Zhou?
After coming back to China, MI6 repeatedly urged Wang to recruit his wife to the British intelligence body and promised him a double compensation. Wang eventually succumbed to the persistent persuasion, inducement, and even threats from the British side and the couple started gathering intelligence for the British officials.
In the statement, the Chinese national security agencies maintained that they have legally detained the duo and interrogation is currently underway. This is not the first time the Chinese authorities accused MI6 of recruiting Chinese officials as spies.
Back in January, the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) accused MI6 of using foreign personnel from “a third country” for espionage targeting China.
With inputs from agencies.
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