CHICAGO—"I was approached by China's State Security Bureau before I came to the U.S.," said Dr. Liu Tong, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Human Genetics of the University of Chicago. The bureau told Liu to stay in the U.S. and develop his career after he finished his PhD degree, says Dr. Liu. The bureau asked Liu to mix in the American mainstream society by working in a large corporation or in the government, promising to offer help along the way.
Do Not Return to China; Develop a Career in U.S., Says China's State Security Bureau
Dr. Liu, having just completed his research at the Department of Human Genetics of the University of Chicago, was graduated with a degree on Biological Chemistry from East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai in 1993. He stayed in Shanghai and worked for the university for four years before he came to the U.S. in the summer of 1997.
Before Liu went abroad, he had a surprising visit from a young man about Liu's age, an agent from Shanghai's State Security Bureau (China's FBI counterpart.) "Your department describes you as the most promising young man with stellar academic performances," said the young man. "Your resume shows you are equally excellent in arts and social work. A talent like you should stay in the U.S. and never return to China."
"Never return to China?" asked Liu.
Liu was astonished. When the young man introduced himself as a security agent, Liu wondered how he should respond if the agent tested his level of patriotism with questions such as "do you plan to return to China and serve your country after you complete your academic training in the U.S.?" Much to his consternation, the agent told him directly not to return to China.
"What do you mean by staying in the U.S.?" Liu asked the agent.
More and more Chinese are entering the upper stratum of the U.S. society, large corporations, large businesses and the U.S. government, the agent explained. "An excellent scholar like you will be given a lot of opportunities in the U.S. We Chinese people should help each other abroad and provide benefits for our country. If you need any help from us, such as creating opportunities to enter a larger corporation in the U.S., we will be able to help you. You may come to me for things like these." the agent promised. "If you want to come back for a visit, we will provide you with cars, chuffers, travel packages, hotels, etc. I will take care of everything for you as long as you come see me."
Finally, the agent told Liu, "Don't feel pressured. We are just trying to make friends with you. You know about our line of work. We are just trying to establish contact."
The State Security Bureau Have Teamed Up With Police on Campuses Since 1989
The message was received loud and clear by Liu Tong, who by then had worked as a councilor in the university for four years.
After the notorious Tiananmen Square protest in 1989 which ended up with the People's Liberation Army killing thousands in the streets of Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party started arranging State Security agents in the universities. The agents work with the police station in each university and meet regularly with the deputy dean of each academic department in charge of student affairs.
Every month the state security agents receive reports about the students' activities from each academic department. The agents, meanwhile, ask each academic department to recommend outstanding and "reliable" students before they go abroad for graduate study, says Dr. Liu. "Reliable" students usually mean student members of the Chinese Communist Party who are "political reliable."
Dr. Liu said, "There are so many Chinese people studying abroad every year. There must be a lot of party members among them. I imagine the State Security Bureau must have approached many of them. They may have approached them in a similar fashion before they go abroad. This may be one way the bureau recruit student spies. They entice students with offer to find you a job in the American society, which you might not be able to land on your own. If they can offer you a job in a large U.S. corporation as bait, you can imagine how many spies they had already planted in the U.S. Not everyone will take the bait. But once an overseas student takes the bait, it's all downhill for the bureau."
An Offer One Cannot Refuse?
During the interview, Dr. Liu admitted that the offer was enticing for those Chinese students who are new to the U.S., struggling to make ends meet. Nevertheless, he did not want to live in the shadow.
"I do not need much in life. All I ever wanted is to do what I want to do with peace and quiet. I do not want to be followed by a shadow every day. You will never know when someone might pat you on the shoulder and say, 'Do you remember me?' It would be absolute horror!"
"Living my life as a spy is unacceptable to me. Besides, I have learned about democracy after moving to the U.S. I have learned things completely unknown to me, such as the truth about the student protest in 1989. I have no interest in keeping contact with the agent."
The intention of China's State Security Bureau is obvious, but it is unfair to those Chinese students because the State Security Bureau does not tell them that spying is against the U.S. law. The bureau does not make any promise to compensate the students' family either should they be caught in spying activities in the U.S. The agents' family may be able to receive compensation from the bureau, but these Chinese student spies most certainly will not. Besides, these Chinese students have come to the U.S. in pursuit of a better life, not to live a life as spy.
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