UK media reported last month that a leaked database of registered Chinese Communist Party members indicates that Party members are currently employed in British consulates, universities, and for some of the UK’s leading companies. According to the Daily Mail report:
December 12, 2020 Loyal members of the Chinese Communist Party are working in British consulates, universities and for some of the UK’s leading companies, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. An extraordinary leaked database of 1.95 million registered party members reveals how Beijing’s malign influence now stretches into almost every corner of British life, including defence firms, banks and pharmaceutical giants. Most alarmingly, some of its members – who swear a solemn oath to ‘guard Party secrets, be loyal to the Party, work hard, fight for communism throughout my life…and never betray the Party’ – are understood to have secured jobs in British consulates. Among them is a senior official at the British Consulate in Shanghai. Its headquarters is also home to intelligence officers from the UK security services. The official describes their role as supporting ministers and officials on visits to East China. While there is no evidence that anyone on the party membership list has spied for China – and many sign up simply to boost their career prospects – experts say it defies credulity that some are not involved in espionage. Responding to the findings, an alliance of 30 MPs last night said they would be tabling an urgent question about the issue in the Commons.
Read the rest here.
The Global Influence Operations Report (GIOR) reported last month on a detailed report on Chinese influence efforts directed against four Central European countries.
The GIOR also reported in December on a prominent European lawmaker said to be acting as an agent of Chinese influence in the European Parliament.
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