Warning Over China Spy Threat to U.S. Congress

It is highly likely that Chinese spies are attempting to infiltrate Congress in the same way they did British parliament after it emerged Sunday that a well-connected researcher had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Beijing, according to a prominent international security expert.

In March, a man identified in the British press as Chris Cash, 28, was arrested in Edinburgh under the U.K.'s Official Secrets Act, as was a second man in his 30s in Oxfordshire who has not been identified. Both suspects have been bailed until October, with Cash insisting he is completely innocent via a statement released by his lawyers.

Cash worked for Alicia Kearns, a British lawmaker who chairs the powerful House of Commons foreign affairs committee, and also had close links with Securities Minister Tom Tugendhat according to The Times of London. The newspaper also reported that the governing Conservative Party dropped two prospective parliamentary candidates after being warned they could be Chinese spies by MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence agency.

Tensions between China and key Western powers, particularly the United States, remain high with ongoing disputes over Taiwan, the South China Sea, trade and human rights. On September 5 the Global Times, which is run by China's ruling Communist Party, warned that Beijing has "never promised to renounce the use of force" over the Taiwan dispute, after Taiwanese troops attended U.S. military exercises the previous month. On Tuesday, the Taiwanese military reported that more than 20 Chinese military jets had entered its airspace without permission.

Alan Mendoza, who heads the London based Henry Jackson Society think tank, said the U.K. spying claims should act as a wake-up call to the wider West.

"These revelations are just the latest examples in terms of the extent of Chinese espionage in the U.K., and Western democracies more generally," Mendoza told Newsweek. "Multiple attempts from sectors ranging from business to academia have already been uncovered, and it is no surprise that political intelligence is on China's agenda.

"It is highly likely that the U.S. Congress is being similarly targeted and it is time the Free World placed possible Chinese infiltration on the same level as the Russian spy threat."

In July, FBI Director Christopher Wray and MI5 Chief Ken McCallum warned about the threat from Beijing during a rare joint appearance. Wray said that China is the "biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security" and warned it is is actively seeking to interfere in elections.

Luke de Pulford, a prominent critic of the Chinese government and executive director of the U.K. parliament's Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, called for Western politicians to receive compulsory security training.

"Now we learn a spy may have infiltrated the very heart of the PRC [People's Republic of China] sceptic movement in London," he told Newsweek. "In spite of all this, close to nothing has been done to protect legislators and national institutions from penetration. Politicians need mandatory security training, which covers the whole political environment, not just digital security."

Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said the reported spying should be a "wake-up call for the British government."

"This is a serious incident, because this spy actually worked for key members of the Conservative foreign policy leadership—he was well connected," he told Newsweek. "It's an astonishing intelligence failure, that this character was operating under some of the most senior British political figures.

"This is a serious breach and it's an example of how China is taking advantage of British weakness. Rishi Sunak has embarked upon a policy of engagement with Beijing, whereas Liz Truss and Boris Johnson were on a more hard line—this is dangerous and sends the wrong message to China."

Newsweek has reached out to the United States Capitol Police and Chinese foreign ministry by email for comment.