China to execute ‘Stealth’ spy
March 20, 2025
The aircraft involved in the security breach was reportedly the Shenyang FC-31 Gyrfalcon, the predecessor of the J-35. As a low observable (stealthy) next-generation aircraft with advanced capabilities, the technical details of the FC-31/J-35 are considered highly sensitive.
According to the state-run Global Times, the spy, named simply as Liu, was a former assistant engineer at a domestic research institute specializing in defence technology. It is speculated that the institute was the 601 Institute (the Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute), responsible for the aircraft, though it may have been an engine, radar or avionics design institute.
Liu was said to have become disgruntled after failing to secure a promotion, after which he apparently began to secretly copy and retain large numbers of classified documents. He initially went to work for an investment firm but suffered financial losses after making high-risk stock investments. He then decided to try to sell the documents that he had copied, approaching an as-yet unnamed foreign intelligence agency.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security have said that Liu then created a detailed catalogue of the documents, and opened multiple online accounts to receive payments. He employed multiple aliases and prearranged codes for covert exchanges and used anonymous IC and SIM cards, frequently changing means of communication to avoid detection.
The unnamed foreign intelligence agency that initially bought classified data from Liu broke off contact with him after acquiring information at a low cost. Liu then travelled to multiple countries trying to sell secrets, at which point he attracted the attention of Chinese national security agencies. His movements and communications were then monitored before he was arrested.
The MSS said that Liu was convicted of espionage and illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities. He was sentenced to death, with a lifelong deprivation of political rights. This might indicate that he received a ‘Death sentence with reprieve’, a kind of two-year suspended sentence where the execution is only carried out if the guilty person commits further crimes during the suspension period. After the two year period the sentence is automatically reduced to life imprisonment, or to a fixed-term of imprisonment.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security took the opportunity to emphasise that national security remained a top priority, and to warn that cases of espionage and/or the unauthorized distribution of sensitive information would attract the harshest legal consequences.
