Secret services
China speaks of defamation after espionage allegations
China calls on Germany to “stop exploiting the espionage accusation to politically manipulate China’s image and defame China.” photo
© Hannes P. Albert/dpa
After the arrest of suspected Chinese spies in Germany, Beijing rejects the allegations. The aim is to deliberately damage the relationships.
China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. In Germany, the “Cold War mentality” must be overcome. Emphasizing so-called espionage risks should not be misused for political operations against China.
Shortly before, on Monday, an employee of the German AfD MEP Maximilian Krah was arrested on suspicion of spying for China, according to security circles. The Federal Prosecutor General (GBA) reported on the arrest in Dresden without naming Krah. According to the GBA, the arrested person is said to have passed on information from the European Parliament. ARD and “Zeit” also reported on it. MEP Krah told the “Bild” newspaper at Strasbourg airport that he only saw all of this on his cell phone when he landed. As far as he knows, his employee only maintained “contacts with official Chinese bodies in the embassy.”
The day before, three suspected spies who were said to have worked for China were arrested in Düsseldorf and Bad Homburg. The Chinese embassy in Berlin had already commented on this. “We call on the German side to stop exploiting the espionage accusation to politically manipulate China’s image and defame China,” China’s official Xinhua news agency reported the diplomatic mission that night.