The video message, posted by the CIA for disgruntled Chinese officials, maintains good cinematic quality and feature scenes of Communist Party insiders, luxury automobiles and glittering skyscrapers.
Amid the escalating trade war between the US and China, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has made an attempt to reach out to disgruntled officials through videos posted on YouTube and X. In its message, the CIA tells the Chinese government officials, “Come work with us.” The CIA’s outreach attempt is being seen against the backdrop of CIA Director John Ratcliffe vowing to boost both the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations.
In his statement made to news agency AP, Ratcliffe said, “Our agency must continue responding to this threat with urgency, creativity, and grit, and these videos are just one of the ways we are doing this,” adding that the videos are “aimed at recruiting Chinese officials to steal secrets.”
The more than 2-minute-long videos are of cinematic quality and feature scenes of Communist Party insiders, luxury automobiles and glittering skyscrapers as narrators share their growing disillusionment with the system they have served, reports AP.
In the video, a man, being described as an honest party member, speaks of his discomfort about the power struggles among his peers and what it might mean for his family’s safety. As the music in the video gets intense, he says, “I’ve done nothing wrong; I can’t go on living in fear!”
Later, the man uses his smartphone to contact the CIA, and the video ends with the agency’s seal. Below the video, links are provided with instructions on contacting the agency securely, along with a warning cautioning potential informants about fake accounts that might impersonate the CIA.
Earlier, the CIA posted online instructions in Korean, Mandarin and Farsi detailing steps that potential informants can take to contact US intelligence officials without putting themselves in danger.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the videos.