Overview

• The Ministry of State Security said Thursday it had foiled three espionage schemes targeting public servants.
• In one case, a provincial employee surnamed Li was ensnared in a honeytrap by a foreign agent, blackmailed with intimate photos and sentenced to five years for handing over official documents.
• A municipal cadre named Hou secretly photographed confidential files to sell to foreign agencies in order to cover gambling debts and was held criminally responsible.
• A young official lost his position after sharing classified information with a relative who transmitted it to overseas spy services.
• The MSS did not name the countries behind the plots but warned that foreign intelligence agencies are increasingly active in infiltrating and stealing state secrets.