How the Chinese Recruit American Journalists as Spies
Three years ago, an enigmatic Chinese man calling himself “Frank Hu” of the “Shanghai Pacific & International Strategy Consulting Co.” emailed my friend and colleague Nate Thayer with a proposition: to gather information on “Washington D.C. social networks” of U.S. government officials, preferably “in the State Department and the National Security Council on hot button contentious issues of U.S. government strategic thinking.” Quickly catching on to something fishy, Nate strung him and others on for many months in an effort to delve into what was clearly a spy recruitment ploy. Nate's account of his cat & mouse game with PRC intelligence as well as his dealings with the CIA, FBI and others is fascinating reading. Below are links to Asia Sentinel's short version and Nate's full blog account. BTW, Nate is a trouble magnet.
"China Spy" - Asia Sentinel
"How the Chinese Recruit American Journalists as Spies" - Nate Thayer's blog