Assistant to AfD MEP suspected of spying for Beijing

German justice announced Tuesday the arrest of a suspected Chinese agent at the heart of the Parliament of the European Union, fueling fears around Beijing's espionage before the European elections in June and in strategic sectors of the European Union. gics.

The announcement comes the day after German authorities arrested three nationals, also accused of spying for China, and the indictment of two men in London on suspicion similar.

The latest suspect, named only Jian G., is accused of spying on Chinese opponents in Germany and sharing information about Parliament European with a Chinese intelligence service, indicates the German federal prosecutor's office in a press release.

MEP Maximilian Krah, head of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) list for the next European elections, during a press conference, July 28, 2023 in Magdeburg, Germany © AFP – Ronny HARTMANN

On the European Parliament website, Jian Guo is part of the list of accredited assistants to MEP Maximilian Krah, head of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) list in the next European elections on June 9.< /p>

A German national, he has worked as her assistant in Brussels since 2019.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described this arrest as “extremely serious”.

“If it is confirmed that the Chinese intelligence services spied on the European Parliament from the inside, it “would be an attack on European democracy,” she said in a statement.

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on April 10, 2024 in Brussels © AFP – John THYS

European environmentalists have urged the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to speed up the investigation into the links between certain deputies and foreign powers.

“Autocracies like China or Russia actively seek to undermine our democracies in Europe. This must stop,” denounced MP Terry Reintke in a press release.

– “Slander”

Beijing denied it outright. “The theory of the threat of alleged Chinese espionage is not a new thing in European public opinion,” declared a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.

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Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, November 9, 2020 in Beijing © AFP – GREG BAKER

He deplored a “slander” likely to “destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited China in mid-April to strengthen economic ties with this country, Germany's largest economic partner, and to try to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his influence over his country. Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin so that he puts an end to his war of aggression in Ukraine.

According to German justice, “the accused transmitted in January 2024 to repeatedly provided information about the negotiations and decisions of the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.”

Jian Guo was arrested on Monday in the eastern city of Dresden of Germany, and his home was searched.

– Hard blow for the extreme right –

This arrest is a new blow for the AfD, an anti-euro and anti-immigration party, currently in second position behind the conservatives in opinion polls, but whose popularity is crumbling due to several controversies.

This arrest is a new blow for the AfD, an anti-euro and anti-immigration party, currently in second position behind the conservatives in opinion polls. © AFP – Ronny Hartmann

The information concerning the arrest of an assistant to Mr. Krah is “very worrying”, declared the party in Berlin.

“I learned of the arrest of my colleague Jian Guo this morning from the press. I have no other information”, reacted Mr. Krah in a position sent to AFP, adding that he would end working relations with him “if the accusations prove to be founded”.

The controversial MP was also named in another recent scandal according to which some European lawmakers allegedly accepted money to disseminate pro-Russian positions on a Moscow-funded news website.

Mr. Krah, cited in the media after the Czech government said it had discovered a Russian propaganda network, admitted in early April to having appeared twice on this “Voice of Europe” website, but not having “of course received any money for that”.

Among the three German nationals whose arrest had been announced the day before, one notably “recovered information in Germany on innovative technologies which can be used for military purposes”.

For its part, the London police announced on Monday the indictment of two men aged 29 and 32 suspected of espionage in profit from China between the end of 2021 and February 2023.

According to German media, the two cases are not linked.

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