Police raid homes of alleged Chinese spies
Peter Terpstra
The Local[Thursday, November 26, 2009 15:28]
Munich investigators on Tuesday searched the apartments of four alleged
Chinese agents on suspicion they have been spying on the city's Uighur
community, news magazine Der Spiegel reported.
Authorities told the magazine that the Chinese general consulate has been
running a spy network from the Bavarian capital, where several hundred Muslim
Uighurs form one of the largest communities outside of China.
The World Uighur Congress is also located in the city, and many members are
politically active in protesting what they see as China's oppression of the
ethnic group. Meanwhile China has in the past accused Uighur exile groups of
supporting terrorism.
“According to findings by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s office, the Chinese
government has therefore won a range of informants who report on the private
lives of the Munich Uighur community for Beijing,” the magazine's website
said.
Investigators have observed Chinese diplomats meeting with the informants, but
only the alleged spies are under investigation due to matters of diplomatic
immunity.
The efforts by German authorities are the result of new policies created last
year to curtail possible Chinese espionage, though this is the first time they
have taken such drastic steps, the magazine said.
Two years ago Chinese diplomat Ji Wumin left Germany after he was discovered
meeting with an informant about Uighur issues. But he departed of his own
accord without being expelled. China is said to be interested in returning Ji
to his former post, but this is now unlikely after the latest raids, which are
related to his successor, the magazine said.
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