For the first time on Monday, China revealed that a man who was executed in 2016 had been found guilty of selling secrets to the United States. In a video released to highlight China’s effectiveness in fighting foreign espionage, state broadcaster CCTV confirmed that Huang Yu was executed in May 2016, one month after his conviction and death sentence were publicised.
At the time, China had given no details of the country Huang was accused of assisting. In Monday’s video an announcer also made no explicit mention of the country, but images were shown of an American flag and the U.S. Capitol building.
The United States Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CCTV reported that a man from Sichuan had provided secrets to a foreign government, including information about China’s military communications. Previously, it was disclosed that he had received $700,000 from his foreign handlers before his arrest in 2011.
Monday’s video was part of a campaign in China’s state media to heighten awareness of what Beijing sees as the threat from foreign spies and to celebrate China’s counter-espionage successes.
A coordinated run of stories and videos was released ahead of a day dedicated to promote national security awareness and citizen vigilance established under President Xi Jinping nine years ago.
In a separate statement on Monday, China’s State Security Ministry said it would work to “create sharp weapons” under the law to crack down on spying.
Last year, Chinese lawmakers approved a comprehensive update to the country’s anti-espionage laws, which now prohibit the transfer of any information considered relevant to national security. This update has caused concern among some foreign businesses and investors.
Additionally, the security ministry published a three-minute video depicting a dramatisation of a Chinese spy infiltrating meetings, offices, and laboratories to gather information, followed by their capture. The video did not specify if it was based on a particular case.
In a related development, the state-run Global Times published a report detailing instances where Chinese officials claimed to have intercepted efforts to steal sensitive information, focusing on areas such as food security and the production of rare earth minerals.
With Inputs from Reuters
