dagblog - Comments for "Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians"

Between the lines: The case

PeraclesPlease — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 08:36:00 +0000

In reply to The suspected operative, a

Between the lines: The case demonstrates China’s strategy of cultivating relationships that may take years or even decades to bear fruit. The Chinese Communist Party knows that today’s mayors and city council members are tomorrow’s governors and members of Congress.

In the years since the Fang probe, the FBI has prioritized investigations into Chinese influence operations, creating a unit in May 2019 within the bureau solely dedicated to countering Beijing’s activities at the state and local levels. U.S. national security officials believe the threat posed by China has only grown with time.

"She was just one of lots of agents," said a current senior U.S. intelligence official.

Fang attended regional conferences for U.S. mayors, which allowed her to grow her network of politicians across the country.

But Wong [Mayor Cupertino - Apple etc.] said he was "shocked" to see her appear at an event for U.S. municipal officials hosted by the Chinese Embassy in D.C. in March 2014. Wong told Axios he had gone to D.C. twice that year to attend mayor-focused events, and that he saw Fang at both of those events.

At the Chinese Embassy event, Fang introduced Wong to the mayor of Shenzhen, a city that, like Cupertino, is home to a major tech industry. She translated so that the two mayors could have a conversation.

https://www.axios.com/china-spy-california-politicians-9d2dfb99-f839-4e0...

The suspected operative, a

artappraiser — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 04:20:38 +0000

In reply to Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians

The suspected operative, a Chinese national named Christine Fang, enrolled as a student at Cal State East Bay in 2011.

Fang’s friends and acquaintances said she was in her late 20s or early 30s, though she looked younger and blended in well with the undergraduate population. pic.twitter.com/cDhp8s8CTa
— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) December 8, 2020

She was the president of the Chinese Student Association and the campus chapter of APAPA, an Asian American civic organization. She was really, really good at running these clubs, and held a flurry of events that raised their profile -- and hers.
— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) December 8, 2020

While she was a student at CSU East Bay, Christine Fang also had regular contact with a suspected MSS officer under diplomatic cover in the San Francisco consulate, though U.S. intelligence officials believe her main handlers were based in China.
— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) December 8, 2020

Christine used her position as president of these two campus organizations to branch out into local off-campus politics. Between 2013 and 2015, she experienced an almost meteoric rise in Bay Area politics, becoming a ubiquitous presence at fundraisers and other political events.
— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) December 8, 2020