The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Thursday released two videos aimed at recruiting Chinese citizens to provide intelligence to the United States.
The videos seem to speak to the frustrations and fears that some Chinese officials may have about the government in Beijing and issues of corruption.
These videos are part of the CIA’s ongoing efforts to encourage Chinese officials to share classified information with the US. It is the latest public move by the agency to increase human intelligence collection about a major global rival.
"One of the primary roles of the CIA is to collect intelligence for the president and for our policymakers," CIA director John Ratcliffe said while talking to Fox News. "One of the ways we do that is by recruiting assets that can help us steal secrets."
This follows a campaign started by the CIA in October last year to recruit sources in countries like China, Iran, and North Korea. That effort included online instructions for secure contact and was said to have followed a successful campaign to recruit Russians.
The new videos were posted on the CIA’s social media pages, including YouTube. They show made-up stories where a senior official from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a junior government employee, both with access to sensitive information, become unhappy with China’s system and decide to contact the CIA.
The videos also explain how people can securely get in touch with the agency. In the first video, a senior Chinese official is shown to have worked hard to rise through the ranks, but his family remains afraid due to government changes. He then contacts the CIA. In recent years, China’s government has removed several top officials as part of its anti-corruption campaign.
"Heaven helps those who help themselves," one of the videos says. "Your fate is in your control."
"As I rise within the party, I watch those above me being discarded like worn-out shoes, but now I realize that my fate was just as precarious as theirs," the narrator says in Mandarin Chinese in one of the videos, as the camera shows empty chairs around a large dinner table.
"My family's fate cannot rest in their hands," the man says, before the video shows him contacting the CIA on a tablet. The video ends with the CIA logo and contact details on the dark web.
The second video shows a younger official who reaches out to the CIA. He becomes discouraged when he sees that his work only benefits his superiors and feels he has no chance for progress within China’s political system.
The US has had difficulty gaining detailed knowledge about how the Chinese government works. In 2017, the New York Times reported that China had taken down several CIA spy operations in the country over a period of years.
The videos seem to speak to the frustrations and fears that some Chinese officials may have about the government in Beijing and issues of corruption.
These videos are part of the CIA’s ongoing efforts to encourage Chinese officials to share classified information with the US. It is the latest public move by the agency to increase human intelligence collection about a major global rival.
"One of the primary roles of the CIA is to collect intelligence for the president and for our policymakers," CIA director John Ratcliffe said while talking to Fox News. "One of the ways we do that is by recruiting assets that can help us steal secrets."
This follows a campaign started by the CIA in October last year to recruit sources in countries like China, Iran, and North Korea. That effort included online instructions for secure contact and was said to have followed a successful campaign to recruit Russians.
The new videos were posted on the CIA’s social media pages, including YouTube. They show made-up stories where a senior official from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a junior government employee, both with access to sensitive information, become unhappy with China’s system and decide to contact the CIA.
The videos also explain how people can securely get in touch with the agency. In the first video, a senior Chinese official is shown to have worked hard to rise through the ranks, but his family remains afraid due to government changes. He then contacts the CIA. In recent years, China’s government has removed several top officials as part of its anti-corruption campaign.
"Heaven helps those who help themselves," one of the videos says. "Your fate is in your control."
"As I rise within the party, I watch those above me being discarded like worn-out shoes, but now I realize that my fate was just as precarious as theirs," the narrator says in Mandarin Chinese in one of the videos, as the camera shows empty chairs around a large dinner table.
"My family's fate cannot rest in their hands," the man says, before the video shows him contacting the CIA on a tablet. The video ends with the CIA logo and contact details on the dark web.
The second video shows a younger official who reaches out to the CIA. He becomes discouraged when he sees that his work only benefits his superiors and feels he has no chance for progress within China’s political system.
The US has had difficulty gaining detailed knowledge about how the Chinese government works. In 2017, the New York Times reported that China had taken down several CIA spy operations in the country over a period of years.
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