CONCERNS LINGER DESPITE TIKTOK'S SALE
Despite TikTok's acquisition by an American consortium led by Oracle and Walmart, questions persist regarding Beijing's residual influence over the wildly-popular social media platform. Finalized under regulatory pressure, the deal transfers majority ownership to U.S. entities but allows its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to retain a minority stake in and control over the underlying algorithm. U.S. officials remain divided on whether the firm's "Project Texas" initiative sufficiently insulates American user data from the Chinese state. Critics argue that as long as the source code remains proprietary to ByteDance engineers in Beijing, the platform is still a tool for cognitive warfare and data harvesting. Beijing has signaled that it would rather see the app banned than surrender its algorithm. (Newsweek, January 28, 2026)
GREEK COLONEL CAUGHT SELLING PATRIOT SYSTEMS DATA TO CHINA
Greek authorities have detained a 54-year-old Air Force colonel for transmitting classified technical data on the Patriot air defense system to PRC intelligence. The 35-year veteran specialized in electronic systems and cybersecurity, including the Patriot's air defense and radar reconnaissance software. After he was recruited via LinkedIn in 2024, the colonel took an unsanctioned trip to China, where he received training in clandestine communication software. Using an encrypted device, he transmitted photographs of sensitive manuals and network assessments. The investigation, triggered by a CIA lead, indicates the breach provided Beijing technical insights into NATO-integrated air defense architecture. Investigators are searching for two additional recruits believed to be part of the same espionage cell. (Militarnyi, February 7, 2026)
PANAMA VOIDS CK HUTCHISON PORT CONTRACT
Panama's Supreme Court has ruled the concession contract for the Balboa and Cristobal ports held by Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, is unconstitutional. The ruling follows a 2025 comptroller audit alleging the 1997 contract was "negotiated against the republic," depriving Panama of $1.3 billion. The audit found that former officials prioritized private over national interests, allowing PPC to make $3.78 billion between 1997 and 2023 while Panama got only $236 million. The ruling leaves CK Hutchison, which renewed its 25-year operating rights in 2021, at risk of losing canal port rights. Beijing will take measures to safeguard the rights of Chinese enterprises, a PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman said in response. (South China Morning Post, January 30, 2026)
CHINESE REPORTER CAUGHT SPYING IN PRAGUE
Czech police have detained Yang Yiming, the Prague correspondent for the official Guangming Daily, charging him with "unauthorized activity on behalf of a foreign power." Czechia's Security Information Service (BIS) alleges that Yang worked for Chinese intelligence during his two-year tenure in the country. Following his January 18th arrest, the government announced a review of accreditation procedures for foreign journalists. The case reflects broader PRC espionage patterns, including political and industrial theft, academic infiltration, and diaspora monitoring. Yang faces up to five years in prison and remains in pre-trial detention. Former Interior Minister Vít Rakušan characterized the prosecution as a preventive measure against documented foreign influence operations. (Radio Prague International, January 23, 2026)
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This marks the first prosecution under a new "unauthorised activity on behalf of a foreign power" statute instituted last February under President Petr Pavel. Primarily designed to counter Russian intelligence, the law targets the collection of sensitive, non-classified information, a legal gap that had long gone unpunished.]
UZBEK FARMERS SURRENDER LAND TO CHINESE INVESTORS
Farmers in eastern Uzbekistan are being coerced by local officials to "voluntarily" surrender agricultural land to Chinese investors. If late-night police visits and threats of imprisonment are unsuccessful, authorities simply seize farmers' lands, citing a "presidential order" that mandates the allocation to Chinese firms. While Uzbek law prohibits foreign ownership of farmland, a May 2025 resolution created special directorates to sublease state land to foreign entities. So far, approximately 25,000 hectares have been transferred to Chinese entities. (RFE/RL, January 26, 2026)
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