A former Chinese spy reveals tactics used to advance the Communist Party's agenda abroad

A man who claims to be a former Chinese spy detailed in a recently published interview how he worked with one of the most clandestine arms of China's government to catch enemies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) living abroad.

The former spy, named Eric, would assume false identities with the help of the Political Security Protection Bureau, a secret department of China's Ministry of Public Security, and attempt to trick dissidents into being captured by the Chinese government. seconds at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Eric would pose as a fellow dissident or a company representative to gain the trust of Chinese government targets, then use that trust to funnel information to his handlers at the Political Security Protection Bureau.

Eric called the Political Security Protection Bureau “the darkest department in the Chinese government” and compared it to the “KGB, the Stasi and the Gestapo,” according to ABC.

Eric, however, says he was not a willing participant in the operation, as the Chinese government forced him to work for them after he was caught working with pro-democracy activists, according to ABC.

As a 22-year-old college student, Eric joined a pro-democracy political party in 2007, ABC reported. After posting about a party meeting on social media, the police arrested him and eventually gave him an ultimatum: serve as a spy for the Chinese government or face prison for opposing the CCP.

Chinese intelligence operatives would send Eric on a variety of missions over the next 15 years to gather information about China's enemies abroad and, when possible, deliver it into the hands of the Chinese government, he reported ABC

In 2016, Eric was invited to an activist gathering in India where he met the Dalai Lama, according to ABC. After the meeting, he submitted a report to the Political Security Protection Bureau on the exiled Tibetan government's plans for China.

The Political Security Protection Bureau also used Eric to target an Australia-based YouTuber who had been critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2018, ABC reported. His handlers at the Political Security Protection Bureau ordered him to approach the content creator, Chinese dissident Edwin Yin, and lure him to Southeast Asia.

Eric eventually gave up because Yin was “too cunning” to be caught, according to ABC.

Wang Liming, an anti-CCP cartoonist living in Japan, was another target of the Political Security Protection Bureau assigned to Eric, ABC reported. Eric adopted an alias as a planning supervisor for the Prince Real Estate Group, a company with connections to the Cambodian leadership.

The Political Security Protection Bureau ordered Eric to lure Liming to Cambodia so he could be arrested and extradited to China, according to ABC. Eric used his fake identity at Prince Real Estate to contact Prince Real Estate and offer him money to design a logo for the company.

Prince Real Estate used Liming's designs at events and senior members of the company posed with an inflatable version of one of those designs, lending credibility to Eric's operation, ABC reported. After that, the Chinese secret police arranged a job interview for Liming in Cambodia, hoping to catch him, but his wife stopped him from going, suspecting it was a trap.

One of Eric's targets ended up dead.

In 2018, the Political Security Protection Bureau ordered Eric to approach Hua Yong, a CCP critic based in Thailand, and lure him to Cambodia or Laos, according to ABC.

This time, Eric was given an alias as a business planning manager working for a hotel group, ABC reported. Eric was able to meet with Yong and gained his trust by criticizing the Chinese government over drinks. Yong then posted a video of Eric posing as a member of an anti-Chinese militia on his Twitter account.

Canada granted Yong a temporary protection visa in 2021, and Eric maintained close contact with the dissident, sharing his phone number, address and other personal information with the Political Security Protection Office, according to ABC.

In November 2022, Yong was found dead after kayaking at night. Canadian police found no evidence the death was suspicious, ABC reported.

Eric escaped his role as a Chinese agent after Beijing security officials began investigating the fake militia video he sent to Yong, not knowing it was part of an intelligence operation, according to ABC . When Eric was told he faced arrest and ordered back to China, he chose to flee to Australia.

“For all those who oppose the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping, the day we can feel truly safe is the day the CCP falls,” Eric told the ABC.

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