Death sentence for Chinese computer technician accused of espionage

A former computer technician who worked on cryptology has been sentenced to death in China after being found guilty in what some describe as one of the country’s most damaging espionage cases in recent years. The man, Huang Yu, is reportedly a 41-year-old computer expert who worked for a government-funded research institute specializing in cryptology —the science of making and breaking secret codes. He was arrested in 2011 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in southwestern China.

According to state-run broadcaster China Central Television, Huang spied on his country from 2002 to 2011, when he was arrested. During that time, he is believed to have sold 150,000 documents to a foreign intelligence agency, in exchange for $700,000. The documents allegedly included 90 reports that were classified as ‘top-secret’, and contained Chinese military codes. Some commentators have described Huang’s espionage as having caused “one of the largest known leaks [of government secrets] in China in recent years”. However, government prosecutors have refused to release information about the foreign spy agency that Huang is accused of having worked for. In addition to giving Huang a death sentence, the court sentenced his wife to five years in prison, while her brother will spend three years behind bars.

Huang’s death sentence is the first delivered in China for espionage since late 2008, when two Chinese scientists were put to death for spying for Taiwan. Some experts believe that Huang’s case signifies an intensification of efforts by the Chinese government to protect its secrets from foreign espionage. These efforts began in 2014, when Chinese President Xi Jinping enacted new counterespionage legislation featuring harsher penalties for Chinese citizens who work as agents of foreign spy agencies. Earlier this month, the Chinese state marked the country’s first “National Security Education Day”, which included the establishment of a new “counterespionage hotline” designed to accept anonymous tips from citizens about suspected foreign spies.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 20 April 2016 | Permalink