China’s fifth-ranking official was suspect in dropped Westminster spy case
www.theguardian.com
Person who was thought to have received intelligence is understood to be Cai Qi, de facto chief of staff to Xi Jinping

Cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43526405

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British prosecutors suspected that China’s fifth most senior official was in receipt of intelligence from Westminster in a controversial and now-abandoned espionage case, the Guardian understands.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in April 2024 that a “senior member of the Chinese Communist party and a politburo member” had received “politically sensitive information” from two British researchers who were charged with spying for China.

That person is understood to be Cai Qi, a member of the standing committee of the CCP politburo. The committee is the ruling body of the CCP and is headed by Xi Jinping, China’s all-powerful leader.

Cai, a Xi protege, is the fifth-ranking member of the seven-man committee, making him one of the most powerful men in China. A former party secretary for Beijing, Cai is also a director of the CCP’s general office, making him de facto chief of staff to Xi.

Last month the CPS dropped the charges against Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash, citing a lack of evidence.

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  • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.mlEnglish
    42·
    2 months ago

    Prof Kerry Brown, the director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, said an official of Cai’s level having a line of contact with a foreigner, even in cases of intelligence gathering, was “very, very, very unlikely”.

    Members of the politburo “really aren’t accessible”, Brown said. “Particularly under Xi Jinping, [they] don’t really have any liberty to do anything too entrepreneurial.” skip past newsletter promotion

    Brown said the case “raises questions about how British security services assess information in China”.

    I find this story to be the most likely. Even I don’t have time to talk to two random foreigners about gossip