Chinese aide arrested for spying for US intelligence agency

An aide to a vice minister at China`s State Security Ministry was arrested early this year on suspicion of spying for its U.S. counterpart, the CIA. This is considered the biggest espionage scandal between China and the U.S. in more than 20 years.

In 1985, Yu Qiangsheng, a senior Chinese security official who defected to the U.S., blew the cover of Larry Wu-tai Chin, a mole extraordinaire who spied for China while working at the CIA for 41 years.

○ `Pretty woman trap`

According to the New York Times and other foreign media Sunday, Chinese authorities arrested the aide between January and March this year. Hong Kong media said the official, 38, was an aide to Vice State Security Minister Qiu Jin, who was also suspended over the incident.

Reuters quoted a source as saying the aide had been recruited by the CIA and provided “political, economic and strategic intelligence.” The report added that the aide received hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars and spoke English.

Other foreign media speculate that the official “fell into a pretty woman trap” set up by the CIA. After he and a woman were photographed having secret liaisons, she blackmailed him into giving state secrets to the CIA.

A senior official at China’s Defense Ministry who fled to the U.S. in 2000 is also said to have fallen into a similar trap. Some say the aide was recruited by the CIA while studying in the U.S. American and Hong Kong media highlighted that the latest espionage case involved the core of Chinese intelligence.

Qiu is a leading member of the Communist Youth League of China, which is led by Chinese President Hu Jintao. Hu was rumored to be exasperated after being briefed on the spy case.

Others speculate that the case is related to the dismissal of Bo Xilai, the head of the Chinese Communist Party`s chapter in Chongqing, because the aide’s arrest was made around the time when Chinese authorities began an investigation into Bo.

When the Chongqing police chief sought political asylum at a U.S. consulate in Chengdu, Qiu was in charge of escorting him to Beijing. Qiu’s aide had the closest access to key information at the time of the tense situation. Speculation also has it that Chinese agents arrested the aide whom they had been watching close to prevent intelligence leaks.

○ U.S. and China keep mum

Though the espionage scandal erupted months ago, both Washington and Beijing refused comment on the matter. China’s state-run media was silent about the case until Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was visiting Europe, refused to answer questions from reporters.

The reactions by Washington and Beijing are interpreted as a joint position of trying to avoid further conflict in the wake of a series of incidents that drove bilateral relations to the verge of crisis.

The February incident and the escape of a blind Chinese dissident involved the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and Chinese public security authorities. Experts say a full-blown scandal involving the intelligence agencies of the two countries will likely be too difficult for both sides to handle diplomatically.