China Policy Monitor No. 1608

EX-CIA OFFICER WHO SPIED FOR CHINA IS SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer and FBI translator, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for providing classified information to Beijing in exchange for cash and gifts. While employed by the FBI from 2004 to 2012, the 71-year-old Ma used his security clearance to obtain information about CIA personnel, foreign informants, and classified operations for the Shanghai State Security Bureau. Ma pleaded guilty, and as part of his agreement will cooperate with U.S. authorities. His deceased brother, who worked for CIA from 1967 until 1983, was also a PRC intelligence asset. (New York Times, September 12, 2024)

U.S COMPANIES SEE RECORD-LOW PROFITS IN CHINA, CUT INVESTMENT
Out of 306 companies surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, a record-low 66% were profitable in 2023. The report also found that only 47% of respondents were optimistic about their 5-year business outlook, the lowest in the survey's history. "The perceived risks of doing business in China have gone up in the past few years, but at the same time, the market is slowing down, with soft demand and overcapacity," says Eric Zheng, the president of AmCham Shanghai. A record high 25% of surveyed firms cut their investment in China in 2023, with many redirecting investments to South and Southeast Asia. Another report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China also highlighted growing risks. "We are concerned about there being a tipping point," said Jens Eskelund, the European Chamber’s president. (Associated Press, September 12, 2024)

ROK MILITARY REMOVES PRC-MADE CAMERAS FROM MILITARY BASES
South Korea's military has removed 1300 Chinese-made surveillance cameras used for monitoring training groups and perimeter fences at its military bases. "The CCTVs at issue were found to be designed to be able to transmit recorded footage externally by connecting to a specific Chinese server," said a South Korean official. The military is considering taking legal action against the Korean company that supplied the cameras for falsifying the equipment's country of origin. Last year, Australia's defense and foreign ministries removed Chinese-made surveillance cameras from their facilities. (Yonhap, September 13, 2024)

GERMANY SAILS FIRST WARSHIPS THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT IN 22 YEARS
For the first time in over two decades, Germany has sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait. "The signal is a very simple one, which we have always maintained. International waters are international waters," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said. Taiwan's Defense Ministry confirmed that the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and support ship Frankfurt am Main transited through the Strait, and that throughout the voyage "the situation remained normal." To challenge China's claims, the U.S. and assorted allies, including Australia, Canada, UK, and France, have regularly conducted "freedom of navigation" operations, whereby they sail through the Strait to emphasize that the waterway remains international waters. (Japan Times, September 14, 2024)

CHINA PROVIDES TRAINING AND FUNDS FOR MYANMAR JUNTA POLICE
China will establish a police training center in Myanmar and provide 5 million yuan ($700,000) in police equipment and supplies. Myanmar Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong and Home Affairs Minister Yar Pyae signed MoUs for the arrangement during the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Jiangsu. When Yar Pyae last visited Beijing in April, the Ministry of Public Security awarded him the Golden Great Wall Commemorative Medal for his crackdown and deportation to China of thousands of Chinese citizens involved in cyber-scams over the past year. The equipment is meant for police who guard Chinese projects in Myanmar. (Irrawaddy, September 12, 2024)