Social media campaign depicts fictional scenes of officials becoming disillusioned with ruling Chinese Communist Party.
The CIA has launched a Chinese-language social media campaign calling on government officials in China to switch sides and leak secrets to the United States.
The two videos released on Thursday depict fictional scenes involving Chinese officials who approach the top intelligence agency after becoming disillusioned with the ruling Communist Party of China (CCP).
In one of the videos, an actor depicting a senior CCP member describes the fear he feels for his family as he witnesses officials around him being purged like “worn-out shoes”.
“This man, who has diligently worked his way to the top throughout his life, now profoundly realises that no matter how high his status is, it is insufficient to protect his family in these turbulent and unsettling times,” reads a Chinese-language description of the video on YouTube.
“He yearns to take control of his destiny and find a path to safeguard his family and the achievements he has built through years of hard work. Aware that everything he possesses could vanish in an instant, he is driven to make a difficult but crucial decision to safely reach out to the CIA.”
The videos, which were released on platforms including Facebook, Telegram, Instagram and X, contain instructions on “safely” and “securely” contacting the CIA, including by using the dark web browser Tor.
“One of the primary roles of the CIA is to collect intelligence for the president and for our policymakers,” CIA director John Ratcliffe said in an interview with Fox News.
“One of the ways we do that is by recruiting assets that can help us steal secrets.”
China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Desmond Shum, a Chinese property tycoon-turned-dissident who lives in the United Kingdom, described the CIA campaign as the most “aggressive public move” by the agency against China in living memory.
“This kind of public outreach is exactly the sort of provocation that enrages the CCP – and Xi Jinping personally,” Shum said on X, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“His obsession with lifelong rule stems from a singular goal: to secure the Party’s unshakable control over China.”