Chinese security agencies tell students studying abroad to beware risk from foreign spies
- Ministry of State Security highlights ‘real case’ of a Chinese graduate who was ‘severely punished’ after being recruited while studying at a foreign university
- The authorities on Beijing overhauled the national security laws last year and have stepped up messages warning of the risk from spies
The warning from the Ministry of State Security comes amid a sweeping national security drive.
In a post on the ministry’s WeChat account it told the story of a “real case” involving a Chinese graduate who, it claimed, had secured a place from a “top ranking” foreign university despite failing the Chinese college entrance exam in 2006.
It said the student, identified only by the surname Zhang, had been “severely punished” for his role in leaking Chinese scientific research after graduating.
The ministry did not say where Zhang had studied, but it said he had been responsible for liaising with Chinese students abroad and had done well in his studies, which brought him to the attention of a senior figure in the university.
This individual was then said to have put Zhang in touch with two people who turned out to be foreign spies and convinced him to provide intelligence on Chinese international students and other “sensitive information” in return for money.
