Filip Jirouš 葉飛立

Analyst and consultant. Focusing on the PRC politics and business risk. Previously at @sinopsiscz

[Filip Jirouš 葉飛立 @JirousFilip]

1/ Germany just arrested an accredited parliamentary assistant to Maximilian Krah, the leader of AfD in the June EP elections. I wrote about Guo Jian 郭健, suspected of espionage on behalf of China, and Krah in my recent piece for @ChinaBriefJT

https://t.co/mcWV1irzcQ

[Peter Mattis @PLMattis]

I can't say I like the debate about "engagement" with Chinese intelligence. My rules are (1) prepare professionally; (2) don't assist in the exploitation of others; and (3) treat the Chinese side as what they are and ask.

If you don't want to do these three things, then, really, why are you meeting with them?

The basic rule should be to approach any engagement with the PRC/CCP apparatus with the same professionalism with which they approach these engagements.

At minimum, that means all U.S. participants should know with whom they are meeting. We often approach the Contemporary Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) as though they were not a bureau of the Ministry of State Security (MSS). They are, in fact, intelligence professionals. We would not use CIA-affiliated to describe a serving CIA analyst, so we shouldn't use MSS-affiliated to describe CICIR. That analyst is CIA (or, in my case, was), just as a CICIR analyst is MSS.

I have heard from many participants in Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues with the Chinese that they were unaware who the Chinese participants really were. Nor were they aware of the history of the engagement, past transcripts, etc. All things that the Chinese side brings to the table. The Chinese side approaches these engagements as opportunities to shape outsiders' thinking much more than opportunities to explore ideas or potential initiatives.

A second rule would be to prepare people for what should or should not be within the bounds of the conversation. This is not about classified information, but rather what gossip should off limits, what personal details to keep discrete, etc. Do not aid in the exploitation of others.

There are a lot more, but I will finish with a third: if you're going to engage the MSS, PLA intelligence and political warfare, and united front organizations, then ask them about their system, what they do, why they do it, and how it works. Don't pretend like they are something other than what they are. Ask and you might be surprised by what you learn.

There is more to be gained by treating Chinese intelligence interlocutors as what they are than pretending that they have special insights into high-level policymaking. If someone in DC said a GS-13/14 intelligence analyst was an amazing source of insight into U.S. foreign policymaking, then they would be laughed out of the room. Maybe this is changing as the MSS becomes more important, but, for much of the last 43 years, that has not been the case.

If you are not willing to do these basic things, then you really should not be meeting with this part of the party-state and just stick to the diplomats.

P.S. Make sure you know who to call at your local FBI field office or equivalent in case something bad happens, like a recruitment pitch.

[Filip Jirouš 葉飛立 @JirousFilip]

2/ I don't feel like I'm saying anything that wasn't better explained by @perrylink in his essay already in 2002

But I stand by my words... if you don't support independent research you end up with distorted input affecting your decision-making.

https://t.co/ahl4xgFJHQ

[Filip Jirouš 葉飛立 @JirousFilip]

1/ If you needed proof that (auto)censorship is pervasive in the China politics field.

The journalist who penned this article that quotes my thoughts on the topic censored their own name from the article. Out of fear of PRC government retaliation.

https://t.co/00SRM285yz

[Jakub Janda 楊雅嚳 @_JakubJanda]

CHINESE ESPIONAGE ROCKS NEW CZECH GOVERNMENT

- Czech police arrested a Chinese citizen last Saturday. Czech counter-intelligence agency (BIS) was working closely with Czech Counter Terrorism Police Agency (NCTEKK) on this case. Czech court immediately approved custody.

- Czech (Denik N) reports: the arrested Chinese citizen was collecting intelligence in Czech politicians, primarily about details of their engagements and visits to Taiwan. Some of his operations were conducted outside of Czechia

- Czech media (Seznam Zprávy) reports: Mr. Jang I-min (Yang Yiming) worked in Czechia for years as Prague correspondent of Guangming Daily, a Chinese Communist Party outlet. He has built relations with selected Czech and Slovak politicians, trying to illicit information from them for his espionage activities. He is facing up to five years in Czech prison, according to new Czech legislation focused on countering foreign interference (in direct cooperation with foreign intelligence service).
- This fake Chinese journalist, a defacto Chinese espionage organiser, held his first public Czech interview with Jan Zahradil, a well-known pro-China figure, who boasted about being „the first Czech politician“ to be interviewed by Guangming Daily. Jan Zahradil is the chief foreign policy advisor to Motoriste, a Czech governing coalition party which holds the Czech Foreign Ministry. Details of the counter-intelligence and police surveillance from this criminal file will make this case interesting.

- Around 2020, Guangming Daily managed to buy influence in traditional (but minor) Czech outlet Literární noviny, which then published hard Chinese communist propaganda.

- New Czech governing coalition wanted to hug Chinese Communist Party, new Czech Prime Minister plans to visit Beijing around May or June. This criminal case will definitely impact relations with Chinese Communist Party.

SOURCES:
https://t.co/rMfOluUvde
https://t.co/9L5Lw3TW6D

[Filip Jirouš 葉飛立 @JirousFilip]

Happy to have contributed to this ARD podcast series on illegal gambling and online scams.

In this episode on SE Asia and the PRC, I talk about the PRC public security crackdown on illegal activities targeting PRC citizens -- embodied by Alvin Chau.

https://t.co/g17iYD2aci

[Uyghur Truth Project @UyghurTruthProj]

We will never forget Renagul Gheni and how she is still detained in a concentration camp for owning a Qur'an and offering Janazah Prayer... and Renagul's uncle, Jappar Tumur, was also sentenced to 20 years in Korla Prison for no reason 😰

[Ralph Weber @RWeber_Basel]

🇨🇭-🇨🇳: For those interested, please find attached our new research report on "The Situation of the Tibetan and Uyghur Communities in Switzerland," which was mandated by the Swiss government and published alongside the government's own report.
https://t.co/KBNYjgAoys

[Adrian Zenz @adrianzenz]

Breaking: New report of ILO's Committee of Experts notes "widespread" forced labor in both Xinjiang and Tibet, affecting a wide range of industrial and agricultural sectors, and accompanied by land dispossession of ethnic farmers.

Source is posted below.

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

True scale of Assad’s slaughter revealed at Syrian mass grave

[Xinjiang Victims Database @shahitbiz]

Muhemmed Turghun was sent to camp when he was 16, and died at some point the following year. Three of his brothers, his father, and his grandfather were also detained. https://t.co/Kk6M8GPn1d

[Xinjiang Victims Database @shahitbiz]

According to our hosting provider, @ResellerClub is planning to restrict our site/database following this complaint from a "cybersecurity advocate".

All assistance appreciated, since they said they'd "probably restrict".

[The Oriental Institute @Orientalniustav]

📣 Join us on Dec. 12 at 10:00 AM for the lecture "The Terroristization of Xinjiang: Violence, Discourse and Politics in China’s Uyghur Region"' by Dr. Pablo A. Rodriguez-Merino of @RMASandhurst. Free and open to the public.

[Ondřej Klimeš @otkur009]

Chcete si přečíst memoár ujgurského básníka Tahira Hamuta Izgila @TahirIzgil? Můžete jej vyhrát v knižní soutěži @iROZHLAScz

[Ondřej Klimeš @otkur009]

I am very honored to moderate the discussion by @RushanAbbas about the arbitrary detention of #GulshanAbbas and the Uyghur genocide.

[Jewher.Ilham @JewherIlham]

China must end decade of injustice - Please sign the Amnesty International’s Urgent Appeal for the Immediate Release of my father #ilhamtohti ! https://t.co/KUNDqR66fO

[René Bigey @renebigey]

New report out. About how CCP-linked Chinese professional organizations based in France help facilitate tech transfers to China and can be used as conduits for political influence. Includes full list of 71 work stations.

https://t.co/CfQ7ttUAFT

[Sinopsis @sinopsiscz]

On the occasion of the Bastille Day, a detailed study of the CCP institutional infrastructure for tech transfer in France. Analogous networks operate in many other countries, making the paper relevant beyond France.
https://t.co/ptX6uL0n28

[Xinjiang Victims Database @shahitbiz]

More from the same facility:

"The criminal suspect was management staff at the Chapchal County Rectification Center, who, for giving rectification individual(s) a phone to communicate with the outside world, was criminally detained on September 5, 2017 in accordance ... 1/2

[Kalbinur Gheni @Qelbinur10]

My sister, Renagul Gheni, has been sentenced 17 years for possessing #Quran and praying at our father’s funeral. It’s not only her that got heavy sentences over bogus charges, you can find many similar or more tragic cases of @shahitbiz. Please share and raise awareness.

[Geoff Wade @geoff_p_wade]

'The Chinese Communist Party’s International Department steps up activities in the Pacific region'
中国共产党中央委员会对外联络部
https://t.co/DMf5y9QmNf