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The CIA has stepped up public efforts to recruit Chinese spies by releasing a Chinese-language video to appeal to People’s Liberation Army officers, who are frustrated by corruption and the widespread removal of top generals.
The US intelligence agency on Thursday… released a video Nine months after first publishing a Chinese-language video to help recruitment, it was titled “Save the Future” on YouTube and other social media.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said, “Last year, the CIA’s Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know that many are looking for a way to better their lives and better their country.” “We will continue to provide Chinese government officials and citizens with the opportunity to work together toward a brighter future.”
In the video, the narrator is a fictional frustrated mid-level military officer, who laments that it has become very clear that “our party leaders are only interested in saving their pockets”.
He added, “They built their careers on a foundation of lies. But those walls are slowly crumbling and we are left to clean up their mess.” “Anyone who is qualified to lead us is considered a threat and is unceremoniously removed.”
The video was published on Thursday, two weeks after China revealed that President Xi Jinping had removed Gen. Zhang Youxia, a top uniformed officer who served as his number two on the powerful Central Military Commission, along with Gen. Liu Zhenli, another top member of the CMC.
Zhang’s removal was the most serious ouster at the top of the Chinese military since the Mao Zedong era, following dozens of similar moves against top PLA generals in recent years.
The US intelligence agency has not directly linked the release of the video to the recent purge, but a CIA official said: “The question to ask is whether this is art imitating life or life imitating art.”
The Chinese Embassy in the US said the video was “a serious violation of China’s national interests and a blatant political provocation”.
Spokesman Liu Pengyu said, “China strongly condemns this move and will take all necessary measures to resolutely counter infiltration and subversion by anti-China forces abroad and firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.”
Two Video The CIA, issued last May, was designed to appeal to Chinese Communist Party officials and provided instructions on how to contact the agency. The video has received between 15 million and 20 million views on YouTube. In January, it issued a third video With updated information about contacting the agency which has been viewed 62 million times.
The CIA official said the videos released last year “reached millions of people and inspired new sources”. The official said: “If they don’t work, we won’t release any more of them.”
The official said the new video was aimed at military officers who may be feeling powerless and worried about the impact on their families. In the video, the fictional officer explains his frustration by saying: “I can’t let their craziness be a part of my daughter’s future.”
While China blocks its citizens from accessing YouTube and other Western social media platforms, people can access the sites and watch videos by using tools such as VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to bypass censorship-driven Internet restrictions.
The videos are part of an effort to rebuild the CIA after destroying its network of spies in China nearly 15 years ago. At the time, China’s Ministry of State Security, its main intelligence agency, imprisoned or executed dozens of Chinese citizens whom it believed were spying for the US agency. His identity was revealed after the MSS discovered a secret system that the CIA was using to communicate with intelligence assets in China.
In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to warn citizens to beware of spying. Two years ago, the MSS launched a campaign urging people to report suspicious activity in order to detect foreign intelligence operatives.
The video will also be published on X, Facebook and Instagram.
