The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has taken a unique approach to target Chinese officials to spy for the US.
As reported by NBC, on Thursday, May 1, the agency released two social media videos inviting Chinese officials, who are disappointed with their government to spy for the United States.
The videos, recorded in Mandarin-language, were released across multiple platforms and similar to the recruiting videos the CIA agency produced for the Russians in past few years.
Director John Ratcliffe has pledged to make China a top priority for the CIA’s intelligence gathering.
Referring to the videos as the latest efforts of the agency to encourage Chinese officials to spy, Ratcliffe noted, “Today, the CIA released Mandarin-language videos aimed at recruiting Chinese officials to steal secrets.”
Around six months ago, the CIA released a text-only video in Mandarin explaining how to safely reach out to the CIA using the “dark web,” a part of the internet only accessible with specialised software.
According to the agency, that video was viewed 900,000 times.
About the cinematic recruitment videos
In one video, a junior Chinese Communist Party official accompanied a senior official who is seen shopping for expensive suit and watches as the junior narrates the video, expressing his frustration about the wealth gap.
After coming back to his small apartment, the narrator shared, “The hardest part of a journey is the first step. It’s time I start working towards my own dreams,” as he taps a link on his phone to secretly contact the CIA.
In another video, a well-dressed senior party official attends a formal dinner, where he feels threatened by colleagues.
He displays a worrisome expression, fearing he will be next to lose power.
The senior says that he cannot allow his family fate to rest in the hands of party and choose to take action himself as he contacts the CIA over a secure portal on his phone.
Although, it is difficult to speak out because of China’s authoritarian government, more Chinese are volunteering to share information via the dark web.
