Update | Ten-year prison term for web user as China cracks 'foreign military spy' ring: state media

An unnamed foreign country has for years used Chinese social media and Internet forums to recruit spies and gather sensitive information on Chinese military development, the overseas edition of the People’s Daily said on Monday.

Since 2007, at least 40 people in 20 provinces have provided military secrets to a foreign intelligence agent identified only by an online alias, Feige, or "Flying Brother", said the Communist Party mouth piece.

The report said the foreign agent befriended internet users via online bookstores or military fan web forums, which enjoy widespread popularity among young Chinese web users, and then offer them money in exchange for gathering military intelligence. 

One of these web users, identified only by his last name, Li, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing military secrets, it said.

Li had subscribed to many military publications only available in the Chinese mainland, and monitored movements at key military bases for years at the instruction of the foreign spy, the paper quoted national security officials in the southern province of Guangdong as saying.

The spy had contacted the Sichuan-native migrant worker via QQ pretending to be woman, inquiring about his private and work life. After one month of chatting, “Flying Brother” identified himself as a man and offered Li 3,000 yuan (HK$3,724.75) monthly compensation for his work.

He was found to have sent "large amounts of military base information and photos of military equipment" overseas, causing severe hazards to national military security, said the report.