The National Administration of State Secrets Protection warned of foreign spies’ “eyes in the dark” in its latest anti-espionage documentary aired on CCTV national television on Tuesday.
“In real life, the methods, tools, covertness and scope of espionage employed by foreign intelligence agencies [against China] far exceed what most people can imagine,” said the first episode of the administration’s five-part documentary named “On your guard: be vigilant against the risks of leaks around us”.
The CCTV broadcast said foreign spy agencies were operating under a variety of covers, acknowledging that China faced greater challenges in protecting its secrets amid the rapid advancement of technology innovation.
It cited a case of a sea cucumber farmer in the northeastern port of Dalian surnamed Zhang who was approached by a foreign intelligence agency disguised as an NGO who offered him “seawater quality monitoring equipment for free”.
The programme said it was later discovered that the equipment contained a 360-degree camera that continuously monitored military activity and maritime traffic in nearby coastal areas, with the data sent to foreign intelligence agencies.
Dalian is a strategic hub for the Chinese navy, supporting a wide range of operations, from shipbuilding and aircraft carrier construction to submarine and air force deployments.
“What appeared to be a benevolent act of technical assistance was in reality a meticulously planned spying operation targeting sensitive areas of China. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of the many disguised forms of surveillance,” the documentary said.
