German police detained an assistant to one of the leading politicians of the Alternative for Germany. The man is suspected of spying for China. This is further proof that European populists are a tool in the hands of hostile forces.
Maximilian Krah is one of the leading politicians of the German far right. He is an MEP from the Alternative for Germany. From the official website of the European Parliament you can learn that the politician employs three assistants, including Jian Guo. The German prosecutor's office believes he is a Chinese spy. The man was arrested.
– Our information shows that this person repeatedly provided information from the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence. The accused had access to them because he worked for a German MEP. The man is also suspected of spying on members of the Chinese opposition in Germany, says Ines Petersen, spokeswoman for the German prosecutor's office.
Jian Guo most likely ingratiated himself with the dissidents by pretending to be a dissident himself. It is known that the man is 43 years old and has two passports: German and Chinese. The key question, however, is whether MEP Krah knew about his activities.
– Anyone who employs such an employee is also responsible. This matter should be thoroughly investigated. All connections must be checked and fully explained, emphasizes Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister.
Maximillian Krah was summoned to the carpet by the party authorities. Then he met with journalists. He announced that he was firing his assistant. However, he has no intention of taking political responsibility, although according to the press he was told by the AfD authorities to stay away from the party's election campaign.
– If you think that I will stop being the main candidate of my party, then I have to disappoint you. What matters now is to refocus the election campaign around European issues and move away from this ultimately very unpleasant issue, Krah said.
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The reaction of Chinese diplomacy
In addition to MEP Krah's assistant, the services also arrested three other German citizens suspected of collaborating with the services of the People's Republic of China. For money, they were supposed to provide information about military technologies.
The press points out that the arrests took place just a few days after Chancellor Olaf Scholz returned from China. – We cannot accept spying against us, regardless of the country the spies come from. Those responsible must be arrested and brought to justice, Scholz declared.
The spokesman for Chinese diplomacy was asked about the German scandal. He decided that the best defense was attack. – The theory about the threat of Chinese spies is nothing new in Europe. In recent years, there have been new attempts to make noise on this issue. The intention of this type of noise is very obvious – it is to discredit China and destroy the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe, commented Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The scandal with the MEP's assistant is another recent image crisis for the Alternative for Germany. AfD politicians are regularly accused of collaborating with Russian services. The anti-immigration and anti-EU far-right has lost several percentage points of support in recent months, but still holds second place in German party polls.
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Main photo source: Reuters