By Tendar Tsering
DHARAMSHALA, October 6: Weeks after a Canadian daily reported that China routinely places state security agents in Xinhua news bureaus around the world, a top US lawmaker told a house hearing that China’s economic espionage has reached an ‘intolerable level.’
Speaking at a Congressional hearing, Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence said it’s time that the US and its allies in Europe and Asia confront Beijing and demand to put an end to this piracy.
“China’s economic espionage has reached an intolerable level, and I believe the US and our allies in Europe and Asia have an obligation to confront Beijing and demand they put a stop to this piracy,” the congressman said.
Testifying before the committee, Congressman Rogers said that the reports carried in the media of cyber espionage and attacks emanating from China on companies such as Google were just the tip of the iceberg.
“When you talk to these companies behind closed doors, however, they describe attacks that originate in China, have a level of sophistication that are clearly supported by a level of resources that can only be a nation-state entity,” the congressman added.
The Canadian daily, The Star had last month revealed that China was using its overseas news correspondents to gather intelligence.
The report quoted an unnamed senior Chinese journalist as saying that the correspondents were directly appointed by the Ministry of State Security and their job was “intelligence gathering” rather than news reporting.
