China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) has been branded the world’s most formidable espionage organisation, with far-reaching operations reportedly aimed at foreign governments, private institutions, and dissidents, according to a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) investigation cited by The Eurasian Times.
CBS, which is a major American television and radio network is one of the oldest and most prominent broadcast networks in the United States.
The American broadcaster’s recent report presents a stark assessment of Beijing’s alleged global intelligence strategy. It claims that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), through the MSS, is engaged in a widespread covert campaign to gather intelligence, suppress dissent, and influence international narratives.
The MSS, China’s principal intelligence body, reportedly operates beyond traditional methods of espionage by embedding agents in academic, corporate, and even municipal institutions across Western nations.
According to the report, these efforts are intended to control public opinion, pilfer technology, and deter anti-regime activism overseas.
"MSS's primary target isn't a foreign government, although the United States ranks a close second. Rather, its foremost focus is on the Chinese populace, particularly those who reside abroad, especially in the US," said Jim Lewis, a former US diplomat with more than three decades of experience in countering Chinese intelligence, as quoted by The Eurasian Times.
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CBS’s analysis suggests that China’s intelligence services are most intent on monitoring and intimidating dissidents within the United States. These tactics, it reports, are part of a broader CCP effort to “employ a global network of covert agents to oversee and sway events beyond its borders while also surveilling and intimidating Chinese dissenters within America.”
The report claims that the MSS’s mission is not confined to spying but also encompasses shaping public discourse and demanding allegiance from overseas Chinese communities—often through coercion or fear.
The CCP’s intelligence activities, according to the report, extend beyond national security and threaten the norms of democratic governance worldwide.
In August 2023, the Director General of Britain’s MI5, Ken McCallum, revealed that the MSS had attempted to contact over 20,000 UK citizens, mostly through LinkedIn, in attempts to obtain sensitive or classified information.
Similar incidents have reportedly occurred elsewhere. France’s intelligence agency revealed in 2018 that 4,000 of its citizens had been approached in the same way, and German authorities estimate that over 10,000 of their nationals may have been targeted through similar digital tactics, as noted by The Eurasian Times.
The report concludes that such methods represent a systematic and long-term effort by the Chinese state to undermine foreign institutions, threaten civil liberties, and curtail criticism of its leadership—even far from its own shores.
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