Espionage

Multiple spy balloons from China have reportedly been found over various countries, as officials reveal more information about the balloon that was spotted over the United States last week.

Officials say that the Chinese balloons, which have been spotted flying over five continents, are part of a larger surveillance program from the communist nation, per a report from the Washington Post. India, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan are some of the countries that the surveillance program has gathered intelligence on.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) released a statement this weekend denouncing China’s spy balloon over the United States as an intolerable offense against international law and sovereignty.

“Such actions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government contravene international law, breach the airspace of other countries, and violate their sovereignty,” MOFA said.

Here are two predictions about the Chinese spy balloon now floating across the continental U.S.

First, we'll learn that President Joe Biden was offered a shoot-down option with very low risk to Montanans. Second, Beijing will come to deeply regret this incident.

The suspected surveillance balloon from China is expected to remain in American airspace for "a few days," the Department of Defense said.

On Friday, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said that while U.S. officials will continue to monitor the balloon, "We assess that it'll probably be over the United States for a few days."

The U.S. Department of Justice unveiled charges against two alleged Chinese spies Monday who are accused of interfering in the federal prosecution of a Chinese-based global telecommunications company.

US prosecutors charged two alleged Chinese spies with interference in a criminal investigation against Chinese telecom giant Huawei, court documents showed on Monday.

The men were accused of attempting to extract confidential information about witnesses, trial evidence and possible new charges in the Huawei case.

Prosecutors allege one of them paid about $61,000 (€62,000) in cash, bitcoin and jewelery to a person they believed was a cooperator, but was actually working as a double agent for the United States. 

The US unsealed charges claiming two Chinese intelligence officers tried to obstruct a criminal investigation of Huawei Technologies Co.

In a complaint made public Monday, the US claims Guochun He and Zheng Wang worked on behalf of the Chinese government to target the US, from 2019 until the present, for the benefit of the company, which it doesn’t name. A person familiar with the matter confirmed it is Huawei.

A court has formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the US on espionage charges, in what will ultimately be a decision for the UK home secretary, Priti Patel.

The Wikileaks co-founder, who has the right of appeal, appeared by videolink during the Westminster magistrates court hearing, which one of his barristers described as a “brief but significant moment in the case”.

Joe Biden’s Justice Department ended a Trump-era program that countered Chinese espionage against the United States. This week, the DOJ said the 45th president’s China Initiative was not broad enough and claimed it created a climate of fear among Asian Americans.

The China program, launched by Donald Trump’s administration in 2018, was established to prevent China’s theft of U.S. trade secrets, hacking and undue influence on U.S. education as well as politics.

This Abridge News topic aggregates four unique arguments on different sides of the debate. Here are the quick facts to get you started:

THE QUICK FACTS