cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/44387723
The chief legal counsel for the Free Speech Union in the UK was approached three times by accounts claiming to be researchers, but something seemed suspicious.
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[Bryn Harris'] name is associated with the Free Speech Union's [FSU’s] submissions to government on higher education legislation, passed in 2023, to strengthen legal protections for free speech and academic freedom across universities. It was intended to lessen the influence of Confucius institutes, Beijing-funded programmes that have been used for academic interference and to control the narrative around China at UK campuses.
He enlisted the help of UK-China Transparency (UKCT), a charity that researches the ties between Britain and China and focuses on the work of the communist party.
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Harris had first been contacted by a researcher called Lala Chen in June, another in July who called herself Ailin, and then a third woman called Emily in October.
UKCT arranged a technical analysis, which established that while the trio purported to work from the US, they were in the Asia-Pacific region. One used the photographs of a well known Korean actress, and another used an avatar from a Facebook dating service.
Harris suspected he was the target of a “China capture” campaign. It comes after MI5 issued a recent alert to MPs and peers that they were being targeted for information by Chinese intelligence agents. The Security Service identified two Linkedin profiles, used by Chinese spies, purporting to be “civilian recruitment headhunters” and targeting politicians to solicit insights and secrets.
MI5 also warned that Chinese spies were creating fake job adverts to try and lure government staff, academics, think tank employees and private defence contractors into handing over information. Thousands of suspicious job adverts have been posted to online job platforms “with more appearing daily”, according to the National Protective Security Authority, a branch of MI5.
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The targeting was not particularly sophisticated, Whitehall sources said, acknowledging that Chinese agents were sending out thousands of approaches and “kissing a lot of frogs”, but only needed one person to be lured in to consider the technique a win.
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While Harris was suspicious of the approaches immediately, he said he wanted to raise further awareness so that other professionals would be wary of similar approaches and job offers.
Sam Dunning, the director of UKCT, said it had also had repeated hostile cyber phishing attempts including one involving the impersonation of one of its advisers.
He said UK scientists were also receiving frequent research collaboration and job offers.
“It is remarkable that British citizens going about their lives should receive approaches of this kind. The strategy behind such approaches is exploitative, divisive and dishonest. We should ask ourselves: if this is what it is like now, then what does the future hold?”
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Addition:
Chinese spies are everywhere in UK. I’ve been followed to the pub -- [Archive link}
A dissident living in London reveals how agents have infiltrated British institutions, watching, following and feeding information back home