‘Soft Targets’: Chinese Spies Have Been Exploiting US Politicians for Decades, Says Expert

‘Soft Targets’: Chinese Spies Have Been Exploiting US Politicians for Decades, Says Expert
Christine Fang with then-Dublin, Calif., City Council member Eric Swalwell at an October 2012 student event. Screenshot/Social media
Cathy He
Updated:

A report that a suspected Chinese spy spent years cozying up to local and national-level politicians reveals that Beijing is investing significantly in long-term espionage operations to infiltrate U.S. politics, an expert said.

From 2011 to 2015, Christine Fang, a Chinese student at California State University–East Bay, cultivated extensive ties with local politicians in the Bay Area by volunteering in fundraising campaigns and attending political events. U.S. intelligence officials believe she was working under the direction of China’s top spy agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), according to a recent investigation by Axios.
Cathy He
Cathy He
EDITOR
Cathy He is the politics editor at the Washington D.C. bureau. She was previously an editor for U.S.-China and a reporter covering U.S.-China relations.
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