A screenshot from the video released by China's Ministry of State Security on April 12, 2025 via its official WeChat account

 
China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) disclosed on Saturday an espionage case involving a former employee of a research institute under a Chinese military industry group, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for espionage, stealing and selling core secrets in the technological research and development and practical application of key sectors.

The person, surnamed Wei who was a staff member and network administrator of the research institute, was sentenced to life imprisonment under espionage laws, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property, and ordered to return illicit gains, according to the MSS.

Wei encountered a foreigner posing as a tourist in a park, who was actually a spy from an intelligence agency of a country employed by the country's embassy in China. The spy's purpose was to engage in conversation to identify potential recruits and gather intelligence from people like Wei, according to a video posted by the MSS via its official WeChat account on Saturday.

Due to a lack of counterintelligence training, Wei quickly befriended this foreigner. This foreigner would occasionally invite Wei out for meals and drinks, and before leaving, he often gave out some small gifts. Wei began to realize that this foreigner might not be as simple as he had imagined, according to the MSS.

Wei had a solitary personality and had tense relationships with other colleagues in his job. Due to the poor work performance, Wei was often criticized by the superiors. But in Wei's eyes, others were deliberately targeting him. When the foreigner tempted Wei with high financial incentives, Wei agreed without hesitation. Wei thought that this move would not only allow him to take revenge on the superiors but also bring economic benefits.

Wei then exploited the security loopholes to engage in espionage, selling core secrets related to key areas of technological research and practical application. Wei used a mobile hard drive to copy large amounts of classified materials from the internal network, took photos of classified documents by phone, and secretly duplicated the keys to the supervisors' offices. Wei accessed the offices during off-hours or weekends to steal materials and planted a recording device to secretly tape internal meetings. When arrested, Wei had two forged office keys and a cellphone containing classified images provided by the foreign spy, according to the MSS.

Wei sold more than 1,000 documents to foreign intelligence agencies, including six classified and 536 secret-level documents, the MSS said.

The MSS warned that some sensitive state workplaces lack adequate personnel, physical and technical security safeguards, therefore it is essential to learn from this case and take it as a warning.

Global Times