China warned its citizens to avoid seeking “exotic beauties” as they may lure them into the hands of foreign spy agencies, news agency BBC said in a report. The Chinese ministry of state security shared the account of a Chinese man, Li Si, who went to a nightclub while on an overseas trip and was later blackmailed by foreign spies.
The ministry’s WeChat post’s title read, “Hunting for beauty? You may become the prey”.
The news agency cited analysts and said these warnings show that Chinese leaders are suffering from a sense of insecurity.
The Ministry of State Security of China which functions as China’s intelligence and secret police agency has consistently warned citizens about the dangers of foreign spies.
It also revealed to the public cases of people arrested for espionage and shared details of a man earlier in January who was allegedly spying for Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6.
Ian Chong, a non-resident fellow with Carnegie China, however, told the news agency that the prevalence of honey traps (a tactic involving the use of romantic or sexual enticement to gather intelligence) is not higher now than at other times, arguing that throughout history, espionage has consistently utilised human vulnerabilities such as greed, lust, pride, vanity, anger, disappointment or similar emotions as part of their tactics, implying that these methods are timeless and have been employed consistently in the realm of espionage.
“To me, the Ministry of State Security’s media campaign and the recent highlighting of risks relating to honey traps are more reflective of a sense of insecurity and threat, particularly from the outside world, that the current Chinese leadership appears to perceive,” Chong was quoted as saying.
The Chinese government without sharing when and where Li was caught in a honeytrap and instead informed in graphic detail how he was lured into the honey trap. It said that Li was informed by a local tour guide about an adult entertainment venue and was invited to “pick” several women for the night.
Li, apparently was employed at a state-owned firm, did not know that it was a trap until several “burly foreigners in uniform” barged into his room and photographed him naked and then used those photographs to blackmail him and coerce him into joining their spy agency. They even forced him to hand his work laptop out.
“In this way, the computer which contained close to 10 years of classified information fell into the hands of the spy organisation. In the end, Mr Li [was] completely reduced to a puppet at the mercy of the foreign intelligence group and has caused immeasurable harm to China’s national security,” the post said. It added that the person will face a “rigorous trial”.
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