Andy Owen

Will Britain now take the threat of Chinese espionage seriously?

(Getty images)

The UK has long been aware of the risk of cyber-attacks emanating from China. Back in 2007, the head of MI5 Jonathan Evans warned hundreds of British businesses about Chinese cyber-operations targeting the UK. Yet the risk from Chinese spies operating in the UK is less well understood. This is why it came as such a shock to so many when MI5 warned MPs and peers this week that the lawyer Christine Lee was allegedly seeking to influence parliamentarians on behalf of the Chinese Communist party. 

A law firm that bears Lee’s name made political donations totalling £675,000, of which £584,177 were ‘donations in kind’ to the office of Labour MP Barry Gardiner. She also received a Points of Light award – which has since been rescinded – from Theresa May when she was prime minister.

Chinese espionage has a long history in the UK. The post-revolution Chinese Embassy in London was set up in 1962 by one of China’s greatest spies, Xiong Xianghui. During the civil war between the nationalists and the communists, Xiong operated undercover in the nationalist army as an aide-de-camp to General Hu. Xiong’s crowning moment came when Hu shared plans with him of an attack on Chairman Mao’s communist base in, Yan’an, north-west China. Xiong tipped Mao off. Mao escaped into the mountains. And Hu captured an empty town.

Due to the elusive nature of Chinese ‘spies’, even with greater resources, MI5’s job remains exceptionally difficult

One of the first people in Western Europe to be put on trial for spying for China was French diplomat Bernard Boursicot in 1986. Boursicot was recruited by his lover, Shi Peipu, a Chinese opera singer. During the trial, to the shock of the French public – and, not least, to Boursicot himself, who had been with Peipu for 18 years and believed he had a son with her – Peipu revealed she was a man.

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Written by
Andy Owen
Andy Owen is a former intelligence officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of All Soldiers Run Away: Alano’s War — The Story of a British Deserter.

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