Former Belgian senator accused of carrying out special operations on behalf of China

Chinese intelligence intended to manipulate politicians in EU through a former nationalist senator: Beijing tried to influence discussions on the crackdown on Uyghurs< a i=3>covid-19, problems of Taiwan, as well as pitting Europe against usa, writes FT Frank Kreilman < /span>

Former Belgian senator Frank Kreilman received assignments from intelligence CHINA to carry out “influence operations”, write the Financial Times, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, having studied the politician’s correspondence received from a source in a Western intelligence agency.

The correspondence lasted 30 months, from 2019 to 2022. As the publications found out, Kreilman was contacted by an officer of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, Daniel Wu, who said that he wanted to “cause painto the United States.”

He asked the politician to influence discussions within Europe on a variety of issues, such as China's suppression of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong or the repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Wu urged Kreilman to convince two members of the European Parliament to accuse the US and UK of undermining energy security and explained that the goal was to sow hostility between Europe and the US.

In 2021, Wu asked to “attack Adrian Zenz,” a researcher who has made significant contributions to uncovering how China suppresses the Uyghur population in Xinjiang; asked to disrupt the conference on Taiwan, warned against politicizing the topic of CORONAVIRUS.

Kreilman was a Belgian senator from 1999–2007 and then a member of parliament until 2014. He is a member of the nationalist Vlaams Belang party, which advocates traditional family values, tougher immigration and criminal laws, and supported aid to Ukraine (in examining the risks retaliatory escalation on the part of RUSSIA), as well as the expansion of autonomy - both of Flanders within Belgium and states within the European Union. The party was formed in 2004 on the basis of the Vlaams Blok party, which was banned due to accusations of racism.

Kreilman himself opposed military assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He is included in the list of the Ukrainian project “Peacemaker” for participating in elections in Donbass as an observer.

Judging by the correspondence, Kreilman was not successful in completing his assignments. For example, in the summer of 2021, he admitted that he tried to oppose the Belgian parliament’s resolution that declared the repression of the Uyghurs in China a genocide, but “to no avail.”

RBC Pro development program Public speaking: how to feel confident How not to lose the audience: three fail-safe techniques for public speaking Saving a top manager: 10 techniques for answering tricky questions Leadership charisma: how a leader can be heard Anxiety before public speaking: how to cope with it Business coach Matt Abrahams:  don’t try to speak “correctly” How to prepare for a remote speech: a checklist for a speaker Imagine that there are bunnies in front of you: 5 myths about public speaking “I will look stupid”: how to overcome the fear of public speaking How to use techniques stand-up comedians in public speaking How to use gestures during a public speaking Public speaking: how to prepare for it quickly and effectively How to answer tricky questions from listeners after a public speaking

Chinese intelligence typically focuses on recruiting low-ranking politicians in Europe “who are sympathetic to the Chinese cause or who benefit from Chinese largesse,” the source said. “These lower-ranking politicians establish connections with senior officials, regularly discuss sensitive topics with them, and then, willingly or unwillingly, share with [Beijing] what they have discovered,” the source said.