The Washington Post-Germany arrests staffer at EU Parliament over China spying suspicion
April 23, 2024 3 min 599 words
这篇报道主要内容是：德国当局以涉嫌为中国间谍活动逮捕了欧盟议会中一位极右翼议员的助手，此事引发了欧洲对中国间谍活动的担忧。德国检察官称，该助手在今年一月多次向中国情报机构传递欧盟议会的谈判和决定信息，同时他还被指控监视在德国的中国反对派人士。欧洲议会已立即暂停了此人的职务。 这篇报道有明显的偏见，其用词和叙事角度都有刻意渲染中国威胁的倾向。例如，报道以“德国逮捕欧盟议会工作人员，涉嫌为中国间谍活动”为标题，而正文中却没有提供足够证据来支持这一指控，仅是基于德国检察官的声明。报道中多次出现“中国间谍活动”“中国情报服务”等字眼，营造一种中国广泛在欧洲进行间谍活动的印象，而没有提供更全面的信息，比如中欧之间正常的外交和情报交流。此外，报道过分强调了中国外交部发言人对这一事件的回应，而没有给予德国内政部长等更多回应的平等篇幅。报道还提及了德国极右翼政党德国另类选择党（AfD）的亲俄立场，暗示该党可能同时与中国和俄罗斯有联系，进一步强化中国和俄罗斯对欧洲安全的威胁。这篇报道有选择地呈现信息，突出可能引发争议和负面对立的内容，而没有提供更全面更客观的背景信息，有刻意引导读者产生对中国和俄罗斯负面观感的倾向。
2024-04-23T09:16:05.513Z
BERLIN — German authorities have detained the aide of a far-right European lawmaker on suspicion of spying for China in the city of Dresden, prosecutors said in a statement. The European Parliament said Tuesday that it has suspended the person in question “with immediate effect.”
The aide was arrested Monday amid mounting concern in Europe over Chinese espionage activity. Less than 24 hours earlier, three other German nationals were detained on suspicion of having worked for a Chinese intelligence service. Britain also charged two men on Monday with spying for China.
According to German prosecutors, the suspect repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence client in January this year.
“He also spied on Chinese opposition figures in Germany for the intelligence service,” the statement said.
Maximilian Krah, a member of the European Parliament for the German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party since 2019, later confirmed media reports that the suspect was his employee.
“I learned about the arrest of the member of my staff, Jian Guo, from the press this morning,” Krah said in a statement. “I don’t have any additional information. Spying for a foreign state is a serious accusation. If the allegations prove true, it will result in the immediate termination of Mr. Guo’s employment with me.”
A spokesperson for the AfD described reports of the arrest as very disturbing.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called for the “extremely serious” allegations to be “rigorously cleared up.”
“If it is confirmed that spying for Chinese intelligence services happened from in the European Parliament, then that is an attack on European democracy from within,” she said.
The accusation of spying on members of the Chinese opposition in Germany is just as serious, Faeser said, adding that “anyone who employs such a staff member also bears the responsibility for them.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday described the “so-called Chinese espionage activities” reported in Germany and the United Kingdom as “hype.”
“We urge relevant parties to stop spreading fake news about this so-called ‘Chinese espionage threat’ and stop this anti-China political manipulation and slander,” said spokesman Wang Wenbin.
In Germany, the arrest sparked renewed criticism of Krah — even from his own party ranks.
“He has been a problem for the delegation for the last five years with his aloof attitude toward China, Russia, the USA, Israel, women and much more,” tweeted Sylvia Limmer, Krah’s AfD colleague in the E.U. Parliament.
Konstantin von Notz, a German Greens party lawmaker, said the arrest of Krah’s employee is further evidence of the far-right AfD’s authoritarian tendencies.
“[The AfD] makes no secret of its contempt for our democracy and our constitutional state. And that obviously makes their politicians very vulnerable to influence and control from China and Russia,” von Notz told German media outlet RND.
Earlier this month, the AfD was accused in Parliament of boosting Russian propaganda and undermining German security following reports of a Russian disinformation campaign via the pro-Russian platform Voice of Europe. Interviews with Krah and fellow AfD politicians Petr Bystron had been published on the site.
German media also reported last week that Krah was grilled by the FBI in December over possible payments from pro-Russian patrons — accusations that Krah characterized as “absurd and fabricated.”
Beatriz Rios in Brussels and Lily Kuo in Taipei contributed to this report.