The news follows MI5 chief Ken McCallum and FBI counterpart Christopher Wray making an unprecedented joint public statement about the risk of China. Mr McCallum said MI5 has more than doubled its work against Chinese activity in the past three years and will double again in the near future. Yet China has reacted angrily to the news, with a Chinese media outlet saying “British drama queens are on the move again”, saying the allegations were “nothing but sensationalism and unprofessionalism”.
A Chinese commentator, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs, said: “If MI5 were more professional, it wouldn’t make a fuss about baseless speculation.
“If more British politicians were more professional they would be sober about the fact that the biggest threat to the UK is its own development and governance-related puzzles.
“Voices in Scotland and Northern Ireland have been loud for some time to leave the UK. If these problems are not solved, social unrest can arise.
“Unfortunately, some British politicians have shown little professionalism in domestic challenges, but have shown great enthusiasm and skillful tactics when shouting about geopolitics, or more specifically, playing the Chinese card, such as how British tabloid newspapers attract eyeballs.”
Yet the allegations made by the joint British and American intelligence chiefs paint a very different picture.
MI5 now conducts seven times as many investigations into Chinese Communist Party activities as compared to 2018.
The FBI chief warned that if China took Taiwan by force, it would be “one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen”.
Recent talks between Chinese and US defense officials in Singapore have raised concerns that China might be willing to go to war over Taiwan’s identity and sovereignty.
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and American colleague Lloyd Austin gave each other open and candid verbal warnings during the conference.
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British intelligence has also been very wary of the Chinese Communist Party’s influence around the world, and here in Britain.
McCallum also said the Chinese Communist Party’s challenge “changes the game,” while Wray called it “immense” and “breathtaking.”
Mr Wray warned the public – including corporate CEOs and senior university figures – that the Chinese government was “determined to steal your technology” using a range of tools.
He said it “posed an even greater threat to Western businesses than even many sophisticated businessmen realized.”
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But for China, the argument would be groundless, with Chinese media suggesting that Britain should be concerned about domestic policies rather than Beijing’s.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, blamed Britain’s close ties to the US for the new concerns: “The UK won’t get far riding the US’s chariot because it will eventually will fall out of hegemony.
“If the UK wants to make a difference, it needs different politicians and other politicians, who are serious about looking after the country and the people’s interests, rather than making a fight out of the blue to attract attention, like boring , low-class British tabloids.”
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