Janice R. Andrews
On the Chinese social media site WeChat, China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) recently sent a strong message to college students: be careful of “handsome guys” and “beautiful women” who might try to scam them into spying. This new warning is part of the Chinese government’s ongoing work to improve national security under President Xi Jinping’s rule, as China faces growing worries about foreign information leaking.
The MSS specifically went after students who had access to sensitive research or secret information. It warned them that foreign spies often pose as possible romantic interests. The ministry’s post made it clear that these people are trying to take advantage of young people by setting them up in fake relationships and then getting them to spy on China.
A Strategy Used by Foreign Spies: Fake Love and Control
The Wednesday post on WeChat talked about how foreign spy agencies trick students who aren’t paying attention. The MSS says that foreign agents often pretend to be scientists, researchers, or advisers. They offer young people who don’t have much money high-paying jobs that don’t require much work. Most of the time, the first contact is harmless, but as time goes on, the agents start to build trust by giving meals, gifts, or business connections.
This post warned, “They take advantage of the desire to learn and try new things in young people.” These agents build strong connections with the students by showing they care and helping them with daily issues. Eventually, the students believe them. The relationships, on the other hand, are fake, and the agency says that the so-called “beautiful women” or “handsome guys” later trick the students into giving them secret information.
Putting students in espionage situations
Once trust has been built, the spies give the students unclear directions and tell them to get secret information by doing things like taking pictures in restricted areas. The post stated that this is the start of the “training and guiding” process by foreign spies using phone calls, social media, and video chats to talk to the kids. If the kids say no to more spying, the agents will stop acting nice and start forcing them to do what they want.
The MSS said, “They show care in daily life by offering help and solving problems, earning the students’ trust.” But when the students try to stop spying, the relationship becomes dangerous. The MSS warned that students are often forced to take more and more dangerous actions, and that they can get stuck in a loop of illegal activities that could lead to major problems.
Claims of espionage and tense relations with the West
China and the West, especially the US, are getting more and more angry with each other, and this warning is part of that trend. In the past few years, both countries have said that the other is spying on them. In the most recent case, U.S. officials say that Linda Sun, who used to be a top advisor to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, is working for China as a spy. Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were both jailed, but they have both said they are not guilty.
Chinese officials wouldn’t say anything about the specific case, but a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said that China is against any efforts to “smear or slander” the country. The MSS also said that phishing schemes involving fake job offers or online friendships are drawing more and more Chinese students into their schemes.
Increasing the safety of the country
Since August, when it first started its WeChat account, the MSS has regularly shared material that is meant to make people more aware of threats from foreign intelligence. These posts often have pictures and animated shows that make spying easier for regular people to understand. These signs show that President Xi Jinping wants to improve China’s national security as global tensions rise.
The MSS has also shared information about suspected individual cases in addition to the warning aimed at students. For example, on Monday, the ministry said that workers at a Chinese company had been arrested for supposedly giving secret train data to a foreign intelligence agency. In a different case, the MSS said that British intelligence hired a husband and wife who worked for the Chinese government as spies. British leaders have not said anything about it.
China’s warning to students shows how serious the country is about protecting itself from risks from other countries, especially since tensions between countries are rising. It is important to remember that young people, especially those who have access to important information, are easy targets in the high-stakes world of global spying.
