The new deputy head of a propaganda and espionage agency in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has documented ties with business tycoons, university heads and other elite members of American society.
Chen Xu, former party secretary of one of the PRC’s most prestigious universities, Tsinghua, was promoted to deputy head of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), according to an updated leadership roster on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) portal, which was first reported in Chinese media on Feb. 28.
The United Front Work Department
The Department of State described the operations of the UFWD as including “the use or threat of physical violence, theft and release of private information, espionage, sabotage, or malicious interference in domestic political affairs, academic freedom, personal privacy, or business activity” in a 2020 press statement.
The general secretary of the CCP, Xi Jinping, labeled the UFWD a “magic weapon” for “realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” in a 2014 speech celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a state organ which oversees the UFWD.
Recently, Beijing’s espionage operations have garnered increased scrutiny in the U.S. following the FBI’s charging of five individuals with “transnational repression schemes” on Mar. 16, crimes which allegedly included the targeting of a Congressional candidate.
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