China recruits German parliament member as spy?
(Baonghean.vn) - German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on July 6 that Chinese nationals contacted a conservative lawmaker in the German Parliament several times in the summer of 2016, offering him money to exchange professional knowledge and insider knowledge.
The newspaper claimed that the German domestic intelligence agency Bfv had warned the lawmaker shortly before his trip to China that Chinese intelligence agents were believed to be behind the contacts. The lawmaker's identity has not been confirmed.
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| Illustration: Internet |
In another case, an employee working for a lawmaker was paid 10,000 euros to provide information, and also traveled to China, where he was pressured, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.
The news comes as China is urging the European Union (EU) to issue a strong joint statement in response to US President Donald Trump's trade policies at a summit later this month, and to forge an alliance between the EU and China.
Beijing also offered to open more of its market to EU trade in a gesture of goodwill, reflecting its deep concern over the trade war with the US, which Trump announced on July 6 would impose tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports.
Europe, concerned about maintaining historically close ties with the United States, has rejected China's proposals.
The EU is also looking to pass regulations that would allow for greater scrutiny of Chinese takeovers of European companies.
Speaking in Beijing on July 6 at a daily press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang affirmed that he had not heard and had no information on the above issue.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is set to visit Germany next week for meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In April, Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the Bfv, called for heightened vigilance against moves by Chinese companies to invest in or acquire German high-tech companies, warning that losing key technologies could harm the German economy.
The agency also confirmed last year that Chinese intelligence used fake profiles on social media sites such as LinkedIn to collect personal information about German officials and politicians.
