The former researcher has been sentenced to death for spying, says Beijing

A former engineer at a Chinese research institute has been sentenced to death for the sale of classified materials to foreign spy agencies, Chinese authorities said.

After resigning from the institute, the researcher identified by his surname Liu came up with a “carefully designed” plan for the sale of intelligence to foreign agencies, according to an article published Wednesday by the Ministry of China.

The Ministry does not name the former employer of Liu or the foreign groups who supposedly purchased his material.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of increasing warnings from China that its citizens are co -opted by foreign entities to serve as spies.

“Desperate, who want to take shortcuts in heaven will have consequences,” the article said on Wednesday.

Believing that he was treated unfairly at the Institute, Liu saved a large amount of classified materials before leaving, intending to use it for revenge and extortion, the ministry said.

He then joined an investment company, and after unsuccessful investments put him in debt, he approached a foreign spy agency, which received the material from him at a “very low price”, according to the ministry.

Subsequently, this agency interrupted contact with LIU, the ministry added and he tried to sell the information abroad.

“After half a year, he secretly traveled to many countries and seriously expired our country’s secrets,” the article said.

Liu, who admitted, after being arrested, was deprived of political rights for life.

Beijing is increasingly being protected from espionage and warned that its citizens are recruited by foreign spy agencies trying to provide Chinese state secrets.

Last November, a former employee of a Chinese state agency received the sentence of death after his USB Work Flash Drive was seized from foreign spies and he became their “puppet”, according to Chinese authorities.

In February last year, Australian writer Jan Handejun, known for blogs on human rights issues in China, received a suspended death sentence on espionage charges. This sentence was maintained, And Yang remains behind bars in China, although Australian leaders are calling for his release.

Concerns about Chinese influence and infiltration operations have also been developing among governments around the world, several of which have strengthened the arrests of Chinese citizens in recent years on spying allegations.