Opinion | The double standards of Western media coverage on espionage

By Tom Fowdy

Recently, China reported that it arrested and charged one of its own nationals on suspicion of spying for British overseas intelligence service MI6. The MI6 is the equivalent of the CIA, which deals with foreign intelligence gathering, and as such coordinates closely with it as part of the Five Eyes alliance. Predictably, the mainstream media, as well as the usual think-tank suspects, responded by pouring cynicism over the story and questioning its capability, framing it as part of a narrative that depicts China's concerns about spying as paranoid, irrational, and also economically self-defeating.

As seen with the row over the "two Michaels" from Canada, it is normal for any accusations of spying against China to be roundly dismissed on the premise it is little more than geopolitical point scoring and leverage by the state. Of course, that soon turned out not to be the case as it was revealed in the Canadian media that they were in fact implicated in something, with one of them seeking compensation from the Canadian government, China had been telling the truth all along. Why should we assume thus, that they are lying if they are targeting foreign spies? Even if such is heavy-handed?

First of all, it is a massive, massive irony that any Western country can possibly point figures towards China over perceived posturing or paranoia pertaining to espionage, which is precisely of course how the BBC article on the MI6 report framed its narrative. The Anglosphere, especially the US, Canada, Australia, and to an extent the UK, have been absolutely relentless in their pursuit to accuse and label everything from China as being affiliated with espionage in some particular way, often without any evidence whatsoever.

This ranges from technology-focused claims, to Huawei and Hikvision, to also totally absurd ones such as subway cars, electric cars, coffee machines, fridges, cranes, Confucius Institutes and even, as Senator Rick Scott notoriously claimed, framing garlic as a "national security threat." When such claims are made, they are reported in the mainstream Western media as fact and the agenda behind them is pushed unchallenged, and never under any circumstances is the narrative to the contrary given scope or balance. In other words, it is a one-sided smear campaign against the given target which has contributed to the cultivation of extreme levels of paranoia pertaining to China.

This is then coupled with an additional layer that "spying" is only something hostile countries such as China do, and is not in fact done the other way round. What fortifies this mindset is that there is a constant and permanent media blackout on all activities of the CIA, MI6 and similar organizations. We never hear for that matter what they are "currently doing" but we only learn "what they have done" on a historical basis years if not decades later. To that end, every accusation tabled towards them is usually from a non-mainstream source, which is therefore dismissed as a conspiracy theory accordingly.

This is taken to another level of dismissal if it is the hostile state, such as Russia, or China, who is accusing the West of spying. Never are their claims taken seriously, whether it be two Michaels, crackdowns on US consultancy companies, or a supposed MI6 spy, it is always attributed as the apparent paranoia of that given regime even if it later turns out to be true, and in spite of the massive indulgence of fearmongering pushed about Russia and China in the western media every day accordingly. They pretend that espionage is merely a one-way traffic and that it is defensive on their behalf, than offensive.

However, the truth is still there in plain sight that China is the top espionage target of Western countries right now, and yet they still frame its counterespionage measures as being irrational and paranoid. It has after all been public knowledge that China has severely hamstringed and cracked down on the capabilities of the CIA within its own circle, which brought about rare acknowledgement from its director William Burns. Yet, narrative takes preference over fact and the common man will still be told China is just making itself bad for business even though it is being explicitly targeted in this domain.

We will of course never know who this individual is who is accused of spying for MI6, given he is Chinese, and what secrets he sought after, but unlike the mindless mudslinging of the West for narrative-based gain, China is acting based on real fears. The Five Eyes is the largest and most sophisticated intelligence-sharing alliance in the world, don't be misled by nonsensical paranoia that it is the Communist Party who is the real omniscient espionage machine.

The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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