Office of Christine Lee, a Chinese-British lawyer Photo: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Text by Toshihiro Yamada
Intelligence agencies that are dying behind the news that is reported daily ── By knowing their movements, you will be able to grasp the world situation from various angles. Toshihiro Yamada, who is familiar with international affairs and intelligence, will read the seasonal news in this series. This time, we will delve into the “mysterious organization of China,” which has penetrated into the politics of countries around the world.
A mysterious Chinese organization
Once again, Chinese espionage has become a hot topic.
On January 14, 2022, the English newspaper “London Times” published such an article.
“MI5 issued an almost unprecedented official warning to parliamentarians this week. Chinese-British lawyer Christine Lee said,’Political intervention at the will of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China. “I was going” and “secretly cooperated with the Chinese government” to provide donations to lawmakers. “
MI5 is the Security Intelligence Service of the British Intelligence Service, and is a British intelligence agency along with MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service), an external intelligence agency. MI6 is an organization similar to the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) in the United States, and MI5 is close to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and engages in domestic counterintelligence activities.
The Times article points out: “Most people probably haven’t heard of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a mysterious Chinese organization that sends female agents inside the British Parliament. Is said to be. “
U.S. TV “CNN” also said it had obtained a MI5 warning, saying, “We (MI5) are secretly trying to interfere with British politics while UFWD is building relationships with prominent and promising MPs. It was decided. “
Speaking of Chinese espionage agencies, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) is well known, and this series has introduced the actual situation of its activities many times. However, this time, instead of MSS, the spying activity of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Chinese Communist Party has been talked about.
Therefore, I would like to take a closer look at what kind of organization UFWD is.
A method of gradually eroding from inside the country
First of all, the female lawyer Christine Lee (58), who became a problem this time, has not been confirmed since the warning of MI5 was issued, and it seems that she is hiding in the clouds. Lee moved to Northern Ireland as a child, then moved to England and married an Englishman. Currently a British citizen.
What was Lee’s trick?
She was digging into Congressman Barry Gardiner, the largest opposition Labor Party. Gardiner has been found to have received a total of £ 600,000 in donations from Lee’s law firm since 2014. Lee also had his son get a job at Gardiner’s office.
Using money to create collaborators is a typical spy technique. Furthermore, it can be said that Chinese spies often use it to sneak a person who moves according to their wishes, such as a son, into the other party. In fact, for example, a Chinese female spy who was close to federal lawmakers and mayors in the United States until around 2015 was doing the same.
In the American case, a female spy approached a politician with a color scheme (honey trap) instead of money and sent her companions to the politician’s office as an intern.
UFWD, which was pointed out behind Lee this time, reports directly to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Even in view of that fact, it turns out that it is a very important institution for China.
The UFWD has several purposes, but first it is to bring in domestic and foreign Chinese who may be opposed to the policies and control of the Chinese Communist Party. He also directly directs influence operations abroad.
In addition, by making full use of Chinese organizations outside the country and local Chinese, we aim to have a Chinese-oriented influence on “the people and nations of that country.” Sometimes the connection with the local organization is clear, and sometimes the point of contact is barely known.
Originally, UFWD was established with reference to the foreign activities of the former Soviet Union, but it is said that it has not been active since the Chinese Communist Party ruled China. However, when Xi Jinping became the head of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, he revived UFWD and strengthened his activities by increasing the number of personnel. It is now said that all diplomatic missions in China have UFWD staff.
Strengthening UFWD’s activities is the heart of President Xi Jinping. According to the Wilson Center, a US think tank, President Xi Jinping said in September 2014 that the UFWD was one of the “magic weapons” for the Communist Party.
At the 19th Party Convention of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2017, Xi also mentioned the UFWD, “The United Front is important to ensure the achievement of the Chinese Communist Party’s goals.”
It’s too late when you notice
UFWD has four departments and nine stations under it. The responsibilities are divided for each station. For example, the 3rd station is in charge of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, the 7th station is in Tibet, and the 9th station is Uighur.
According to the testimony of a former spy of the intelligence agency MSS, UFWD is seen domestically as the agency responsible for “propaganda” and “information gathering.” Therefore, we plan to be deeply involved with foreign government officials.
For example, according to the Taiwanese English newspaper “Taipei Times”, the Chinese Communist Party has passed through the Association of Chinese Student Scholars (CSSA), which has a close relationship with the party, and international students and Chinese scholars have been sent to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibetan Autonomous Region, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. , South China Sea, East China Sea, etc. have been criticized for trying to control what they say publicly.
In addition, UFWD is said to be cooperating in espionage activities with Chinese students studying in Canada, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
According to a survey in the United States, other than this federation, organizations such as the Confucius Institute, which is named by the U.S. government as a branch office of the Chinese government, the China Peace Promotion Association, and the U.S.-China Friendship Association are also cooperating with UFWD. It is said that.
These UFDW movements have been confirmed outside the United Kingdom and the United States. Especially in Australia, which is currently in a tense relationship with China, it turned out that UFWD had donated when I thought that the first Chinese parliamentarian in history was born.
In addition, some Chinese have testified that a self-proclaimed journalist, believed to be a Chinese spy, has instructed them to run for parliament because they are funding. The Chinese refused to cooperate and revealed the fact to Australian public security agencies, but was later found dead in a hotel room.
In New Zealand, a member of parliament from China was found to have been trained in military and intelligence activities in China and retired from politics.
Since there are many examples in Western countries, it is not difficult to imagine that Japan would be similarly damaged. In some cases, it is actually reported in weekly magazines, but the authorities need to investigate properly, listen carefully to the other party’s technique, and sound a warning bell like MI5.
Otherwise, the day may come when the Chinese Communist Party will manipulate Japanese politics by watering it. However, it may have already been done.
The Australian newspaper “Sydney Morning Herald” writes: “Espionage and non-intervention are underwater. The effects may be decades later, but it’s probably too late.”
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Toshihiro Yamada
Journalist and non-fiction writer. Engaged in research and coverage of international affairs as a Fulbright researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Many translations and books. A “SPY channel” that explains the trends of spies with videos is also being distributed. Click here for profile details.
