Theresa Fallon
In 1964, Shi Pei Pu, a Beijing opera singer and spy, started a perplexing liaison with French diplomat Bernard Boursicot. Their trysts always took place in the dark, which Boursicot attributed to Chinese modesty. In fact, Shi was a man posing as a woman. He even presented a child, whom he claimed was their offspring. This ruse was designed to coax Boursicot to continue to pass French embassy documents to officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for twenty years. The record does not indicate if this was the first time a Western official should have been less naive about the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but the tradition continues.
Although almost all nation-states spy and seek influence, the scope and intensity of the PRC’s activities, primarily guided by the United Front Work Department, are overwhelming both in the United States and in Europe. Belgium, where I live, hosts both NATO headquarters and most EU institutions, which makes it a prime PRC influence target. A recent case concerned a Chinese aide to Maximilian Krah, a German member of the European Parliament from the far-right AfD party. The aide was arrested on charges that he had been passing information about the European Parliament’s deliberations to China for years. He was also thought to be monitoring the Chinese diaspora community in Dresden.
One of the main goals of Chinese influence operations in Europe is authoritarian co-option—persuading European public figures to have a positive regard for the CCP and speak favorably about its domestic and foreign policies. These like-minded surrogates are then invited to speak as proxies to promote the CCP’s positions. Captured elites can openly lobby political bodies, businesses, and decision-making institutions, creating a CCP echo chamber for both domestic and international audiences.
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