China uncovers CIA espionage case: intelligence agency

BEIJING, CHINA — China on Friday said it had recently uncovered a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) “case of espionage” involving a Chinese national named Zeng who provided “core secret information” for money.

“After meticulous investigation, the state security authority obtained evidence of Zeng’s espionage activities and, in accordance with the law, took coercive measures against him to eliminate the harm in a timely manner,” Beijing’s Ministry of State Security said in a statement published online.

The statement said that 52-year-old Zeng had been sent to Italy for studies, where he befriended a CIA agent stationed at the US embassy in Rome.

This individual convinced Zeng to provide “sensitive information on the (Chinese) military” in exchange for “a huge amount of compensation” and assistance for Zeng and his family to move to the United States, the statement said.

— AFP