Oddly, Lithuania plugs China threat theory
Talk of Chinese espionage seems to be evolving into a means for the West and its allies to show off their self-importance. Recently a German media report quoted an anonymous official saying that there are 250 Chinese spies in Brussels. Some sensitive persons were even warned to avoid going to specific restaurants and cafes.
Coincidently, the intelligence service of Lithuania, a country with a population of less than 3 million, released an annual report saying Chinese espionage has become a threat to the country’s national security. The report was issued not long after a similar one by Norway.
Lithuania was once member of the Soviet Union. It is hard to figure out how a small country by the Baltic Sea defines its special importance to China.
Lithuania, a member of the European Union and NATO, acts radically toward Russia and has bad relations with neighboring Poland.
Lithuania’s report makes us Chinese feel the country, or at least its intelligence service, lacks self-respect. It is playing up to Washington and following the West’s steps in preventing “China’s penetration.”
In some sense, it is understandable that Lithuania acts in such a way as it worries it will be crushed some day by some big power. So it rides on Washington’s coattails for comfort.
“Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America.” Former US president George W. Bush’s words are displayed on the wall of the City Hall building in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius. Lithuanians are skeptical about these words, but they somehow feel there is no other choice than to believe them. This may also be the weird logic of the country’s intelligence arm.
The German report mentioned Chinese spies and vaguely referred to people who sounded like diplomats. But which country’s diplomats don’t gather information about where they are staying? EU diplomats to China interact with Chinese officials and scholars to write more reports for their own governments, don’t they? Could it be naïve children who run the German media?
Countries like Lithuania don’t really think of China as a threat. When China-US relations are under increasing tensions, many countries prefer to stand aside. However, some countries choose to get closer to the US due to their need to showcase their close ties with Washington to their potential enemies, not to China.
Some Western countries are closer to the US in ideology, but they prefer to put their own interests in the middle of Beijing and Washington. Chinese people should be aware EU countries including Germany act in this way.
Chinese espionage is a hot topic in the West, but it won’t appear in Hollywood movies as the studios don’t want to irritate Chinese audiences and lose a huge market.
The alleged Chinese espionage threat will fade away sooner or later from the Western media. We cannot tell when or how will it happen, but we are sure that it will be linked to China’s further growth.