Suspected Chinese Spies Posing as Tourists Are Trying to Infiltrate U.S. Military Bases: Report

Chinese nationals attempted to gain access to U.S. military bases in Alaska, posing as tourists to carry out suspected spying operations, USA Today reported, citing officials and servicemembers.

In some cases, visitors from China seem to have mistakenly entered some of the numerous U.S. military installations in the northernmost state, officials told USA Today. However, other attempts by Chinese citizens to enter military bases appear to be targeted operations intended to collect sensitive information on American military capabilities, soldiers familiar with the events told the outlet on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

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Activist Pressure to Nix DOJ Program to Catch Chinese Spies Grows Despite Conviction of Harvard Professor

Charles Lieber

Aloose coalition of lawmakers, nonprofits, and academics has continued to pressure the Biden administration to end the so-called China Initiative, despite the Justice Department program to thwart Chinese spies winning a key conviction last month of a high-profile Harvard professor.

The Trump administration launched the China Initiative in 2018 to preserve America’s technological edge. The program, which the Biden administration has so far continued, is designed to identify and prosecute those engaged in hacking, stealing trade secrets, and conducting economic espionage for the Chinese government on U.S. soil.

Charles Lieber, a renowned nanotechnology professor who chaired Harvard’s Chemistry Department, became one of the China Initiative’s most prominent targets. Federal prosecutors accused him of lying to government authorities about multiple links to Beijing.

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Chinese Spies Have Wormed Their Way into Taiwan’s Military

Policeman holding a rifle - in uniform

Chinese spies infiltrated Taiwan’s military as a part of a campaign to undermine the island’s defense, Reuters reported.

The effort involved recruiting senior officers at the center of the Taiwan’s armed forces, even reaching President Tsai Ing-wen’s security detail, Reuters reported. A retired presidential security officer and a serving military police lieutenant colonel in the unit had convictions upheld this year for leaking sensitive information about her security to Beijing.

“China is conducting a very targeted infiltration effort towards Taiwan,” retired Taiwanese navy Lieutenant Commander Lu Li-shih told Reuters.

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