November 9, 2011
At 170 centimeters tall and with model-like looks, a former farming girl had no problems attracting attention at bars in Beijing. But she was only after a certain type of man, one who could provide secrets for use by the Chinese military.
"I felt a sense of guilt for deceiving people," she said.
The former spy now works as a company receptionist, but the Chinese military continues to rely on human spies for intelligence-gathering activities, despite the wide attention focused on its use of computers and satellites.
"While China's spying activities are among the most widespread in the world, it is difficult to grasp the whole picture," a Japanese government source said.
China's intelligence-gathering is conducted on a very wide scale, involving not only professional spies, but also ordinary students studying abroad as well as researchers.
Rather than obtain information from a predetermined target, China often casts a wide net to bring in a large volume of information. From that mountain of data, the most useful pieces are selected.
The espionage activities are centered on the No. 2 department of the military's General Staff Headquarters.
The 23-year-old receptionist said she was born on a farm in the Chinese interior and came to Beijing when she was 17 on the invitation of a cousin. In the Chinese capital, she met a man called "director-general," who asked her to perform a "special mission."
She was shown a photo of a target and instructed to make contact. Although she was never told the occupation of the targets, many of them were foreigners.
She would often go to bars in the Sanlitun district of Beijing, which is close to an area where many foreign embassies are located.
Apparently turned on by her alluring dance moves, the targets would soon approach her.
She said she was never instructed to obtain certain documents or information. Instead, all she was asked to find were plans for business trips or information about the target's colleagues in the course of the conversation.
While there was no set pay, she was given several thousands of yuan whenever she completed a mission. One thousand yuan is about 12,000 yen or $154. She was also provided with an apartment.
On one occasion, she was told to work undercover as a masseuse at an expensive sauna. With the help of sauna employees, the target was lured into paying for sex. The woman does not know what became of the target.
She said she started spying for patriotic reasons. But she quit after about two years because she saw little future in the business and the pay was not that great.
The military and the Ministry of State Security are said to be engaged in spying activities both in China and abroad. The military is mainly interested in information about new weapons developed by other militaries as well as troop deployment.
The military also appears to have scouted those in the entertainment business to work as spies.
On Aug. 1, a holiday marking the establishment of the Chinese military, a post on Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, criticized the No. 2 department of the General Staff Headquarters.
The article said in part, "I am under constant surveillance by the No. 2 department."
The article was posted by Shao Xiaoshan, 31, a movie actress who has also been an emcee on TV programs. The article on Weibo said she was approached to work as a spy and that she would only talk to those in the foreign media.
After The Asahi Shimbun called the mobile phone number included in the article, arrangements were made to meet three days later at a Beijing hotel.
During the interview, Shao was always on guard, looking all around several times. She only relaxed when she confirmed the media ID card was legitimate.
Shao talked for about three hours, often while smoking a cigarette.
She said her father was in the military and that she debuted in the entertainment business when she was 17. In 2003, when she had become popular as an emcee of a Hong Kong TV program, she was approached by a high-ranking official of the No. 2 department who was an acquaintance of her father.
When she was asked to spy, she rejected the offer, saying, "I don't want to become involved in work that would involve betraying others."
She said that after the meeting with the No. 2 department official, she was tailed and her phone was tapped.
In November 2010, another high-ranking official approached Shao and pressed her to obtain internal information from a military attache posted at a European embassy in Beijing. She was involved in a relationship with the attache.
She again refused, and surveillance over her intensified, she said.
Shao also said she was threatened: "You will be run over by a car."
After work offers declined, she experienced sleeping and eating disorders due to stress.
She said she posted her story on Weibo as a means of ensuring her own safety.
"I cannot forgive the military, which should be protecting the people, for abusing its power to pressure an individual citizen," Shao said.
In early November, another attempt was made to contact her, but there was no answer on her mobile phone.
She has not appeared on TV since July.
The Aug. 1 posting on the Weibo service has been deleted, and there have been no updates.
Chinese Military Uses Wide Network Of Female Spies
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