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Chinese espionage in California

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Chinese espionage in California includes influence operations, political intelligence gathering, and industrial espionage.[1] The state faces "the most mature" MSS networks of any in the United States.[2]: 72  Activities in California may be coordinated by the Ministry of State Security (MSS) United States Bureau, which was established around 2010 to manage operations across the country. Espionage activities are especially common in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1][3]

Organization

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According to sinologist Alex Joske, "California was a treasured staging ground for political influence operations and economic espionage. Its extensive united front networks, clusters of advanced technology and undeniable electoral heft make it prime territory for MSS officers. Today, the state holds the honour of having an MSS unit dedicated to influence and intelligence work in it."[2]: 56 

Activities in San Francisco

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San Francisco, with its Silicon Valley, political importance in the Democratic Party, and large contingent of Chinese immigrants, is the centerpiece of operations in California for the MSS. According to US intelligence officials contacted by Politico, "if California is elevated among Chinese interests, San Francisco is like nirvana to the MSS, because of the potential to target community leaders and local politicians who may later become mayors, governors or congressmen."[1][4] Several suspected MSS officers have been identified operating out of the San Francisco consulate.[2]: 169 

Targeting of Senator Dianne Feinstein

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According to four former U.S. intelligence officials, in the 2000s, a staffer and Chinese community outreach liaison in Senator Dianne Feinstein’s San Francisco field office was providing political intelligence to the MSS.[5] The informant, who was not ultimately charged, was handled by officials working out of China's San Francisco Consulate.[1]

2008 Olympic Torch Run through San Francisco

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The Chinese consulate in Los Angeles.

In the lead up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, San Francisco was the only U.S. city to host the Olympic torch relay on its way to the event in Beijing. According to three former U.S. intelligence officials contacted by Politico, during the relay, Chinese officials sought to disrupt any potential protest and maintain China's public image by sending MSS and Ministry of Public Security (MPS) officers from China to the city to join suspected MSS officers embedded in the Bay Area. The officers were spotted wearing earpieces and radios, orchestrating the movements of counterprotesters, directing large groups of Chinese students to intimidate and disrupt protesters across the parade route and along the Embarcadero. The spies reportedly filmed Tibetan Buddhist monks on a march across the Golden Gate Bridge, surveilled a pro-Tibetan independence rally which feature Desmond Tutu and Richard Gere, and recorded participants at a Falun Gong rally in Union Square, filming protestors at the torch run itself. They then reportedly bussed in an estimated 6,000–8,000 J-visa Chinese students, and threatened them into disrupting Falun Gong, Tibetan, Uyghur and pro-democracy protesters. One US intelligence officer told Politico "I'm not sure they would have pulled out these stops in any other city, but San Francisco is special" to China.[1]

Eric Swalwell

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This paragraph is an excerpt from Eric Swalwell § Contact with suspected Chinese spy.[edit]
In December 2020, Swalwell was named in an Axios story about suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang or Christine Fang,[6][7][8] who had since at least 2012 been cultivating contacts with California politicians who the Chinese government believed had promising futures in politics.[9][10] Axios reported that Fang participated in fundraising for Swalwell's 2014 congressional election bid, met Swalwell at events, and helped place an intern inside his congressional office. Swalwell ended ties with Fang in 2015 after U.S. intelligence briefed him and top members of Congress on concerns that Chinese agents were attempting to infiltrate Congress. Axios reported that Swalwell was not accused of any impropriety and that officials did not believe that Fang obtained classified information from her contacts.[6]

Southern California

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In December 2024, the United States Department of Justice indicted an alleged Chinese spy who attempted to cultivate a member of the city council of Arcadia, California.[11][12][13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Dorfman, Zach (July 27, 2018). "How Silicon Valley Became a Den of Spies". Politico Magazine. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Joske, Alex (2022). Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World. Melbourne: Hardie Grant. ISBN 9781743589007. OCLC 1347026709.
  3. ^ Overend, William (November 20, 1988). "China Seen Using Close U.S. Ties for Espionage : California Activity Includes Theft of Technology and Surpasses That of Soviets, Experts Believe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  4. ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany; Dorfman, Zach (December 8, 2020). "Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians". Axios. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ McPhee, Michele (June 21, 2023). "The Chinese (and Russian, and North Korean) Spies Among Us". Los Angeles (magazine). Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany; Dorfman, Zach (December 8, 2020). "Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians". Axios. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Here's What We Know About Rep. Swalwell's Connection To A Suspected Chinese Spy". CNN. December 9, 2020. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  8. ^ "Democratic congressman says he did not share sensitive information with suspected Chinese spy". Forbes. December 19, 2020. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  9. ^ "FBI Briefs Reps. Pelosi, McCarthy On Rep. Swalwell's Ties To Suspected Chinese Spy". NPR. December 18, 2020.
  10. ^ "Top GOP lawmakers call for Swalwell to be removed from Intelligence Committee". The Hill. December 15, 2020. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Tang, Didi; Taxin, Amy; Ding, Jaime (December 19, 2024). "Chinese national charged with acting as Beijing's agent in local California election". Associated Press. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Winton, Richard; Fry, Hannah (December 22, 2024). "Inside China's alleged spy scheme to influence governments in L.A. County and far beyond". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  13. ^ Fry, Hannah; Rebecca, Ellis (December 21, 2024). "Who is the politician at the center of the latest Chinese influence scandal?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
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