Taking photos of missile models and warplanes at public exhibitions could help foreign intelligence services uncover “core secrets,” China’s top spy agency warns. But military experts say the claim defies logic—and that its real effect is to accuse ordinary people of espionage.
The Ministry of State Security (MSS) said in a June 7 article that foreign spy agencies are using offers of “part-time photography” and “paid research” to recruit people inside China online. According to the ministry, the recruits are sent to military and technology exhibitions to take photos or measurements, which are then passed abroad and analyzed to extract sensitive military information.
