CIA logo at headquarters: a former employee reportedly disclosed government secrets to China
Photo: Carolyn Kaster / APAn ex-employee of the US secret service CIA is said to have pursued espionage activities for China. As the news agencies AP and Reuters unanimously report, the man is charged with allegedly sharing secret information with Chinese intelligence officials together with a relative - also a CIA employee.
He was arrested on Friday after allegedly accepting an envelope with 2000 dollars for his espionage activities in a bogus act. He told undercover US investigators that he wanted the "motherland" to be successful.
Alleged spy apparently passed on information about US operations
The Hong Kong native, who is a US citizen, reportedly worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989 and had access to "top secret" information, reports Reuters. After his time as a CIA employee, the man is said to have worked in China again, but most recently lived in Hawaii. His case is being heard in a Honolulu court.
According to the AP, there is a particular incident in 2001 in which the alleged spy allegedly gave information about international US operations to Chinese secret service agents in a hotel in Hong Kong.
Video is said to show money handover by Chinese agents
Together with his relative, the defendant is said to have obtained information for China for over a decade. In a later job for the central US security agency FBI in Hawaii, the man is said to have regularly copied, photographed and stolen documents on rocket and weapon systems that were classified as "secret" for six years from 2004 onwards.
The US investigators apparently have a video recording that is supposed to show the alleged spy at a meeting with Chinese intelligence officials. It also shows how the man received $ 50,000 in cash for his services.
If convicted for betrayal of secrets, the man faces life imprisonment, according to the AP. According to the investigators, his alleged accomplice will not be charged because he is already 85 years old and suffers from advanced diseases.
Icon: The mirrorfek / Reuters / AP
