Technological Espionage · Full chronicle and history

On September 17, Japan's Asahi Kasei Corporation reported that former employee Shoichi Furukawa was arrested for allegedly violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act by leaking semiconductor packaging material manufacturing secrets to Shandong Shengquan New Materials Co., Ltd. Asahi Kasei plans to sue both parties and demand the destruction of the relevant materials. The compromised secrets involve manufacturing data for epoxy resin curing agents.

On September 15, the first day of the implementation of the State Council's new exit-entry regulations, widespread public discussion and concern were sparked regarding who is being intercepted and the border inspection interrogations.

On September 13, 2026, South Korea passed an amendment to its criminal law, expanding the scope of the espionage offense from "enemy states" to "foreign or equivalent entities", and it came into force on the same day. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning responded that China consistently requires enterprises to comply with laws and regulations, and also calls on all countries to provide a fair, impartial, non-discriminatory business environment. Statistics from the Korean police show that of the 33 overseas technology leakage cases seized in 2025, 54.5% flowed to China. Previously, a South Korean court sentenced a former Samsung researcher to seven years in prison in April for leaking semiconductor technology to China.

On September 9, the criminal lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Huawei and its subsidiaries officially opened in federal court. The presiding judge is Ann Donnelly, and the trial is expected to last several months. Prosecutors accuse Huawei of operating a criminal enterprise for over 20 years through theft, lies, and cover-ups, facing approximately 12 charges including racketeering, conspiracy to steal trade secrets, bank fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.

Researchers from the US security company Calif studied how to use AI to build a zero-click worm for WeChat, WeWorm, which can automatically spread and control accounts.

Around September 8, 2026, Wang Dan, Guo Baosheng, Chen Xiaoping, and several friends traveled to India and met with the Dalai Lama, with relevant photos published online. Those accompanying them were reportedly overseas pro-democracy figures and their friends. Following the meeting, some criticized them for contacting or paying homage to the Dalai Lama, while those involved viewed the encounter as a meeting between anti-communist individuals and a gesture of respect for the Dalai Lama's person and beliefs. The source material did not specify the exact city or the formal arrangements for the meeting.

A netizen from Zhejiang shared a video of sisters reuniting at an airport. The younger sister grew up in Taiwan, while the older sister was raised as a child bride in mainland China, with a six-year age gap. The video prompted netizens to compare living conditions across the Strait and interpret the words and actions of the elders.

On June 10, artificial intelligence company Anthropic sent a letter to the U.S. Senate accusing Alibaba of launching a large-scale model distillation attack against its Cloud AI using nearly 25,000 fake accounts to illegally extract model capabilities.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the seizure of 13 fake websites that appeared to be consulting or research organizations but were actually used for Chinese intelligence recruitment.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Defense released the 1260H list, designating 188 enterprises, including Alibaba, as entities associated with the Chinese military.

Reuters reported in March 2025 that a website linked to Chinese tech companies attempted to recruit recently laid-off US federal government employees.

Former US Army helicopter pilot Shapour Moinian was contacted by fake tech recruiters via an employment website, provided aviation information to China, and made false statements on a security clearance review, resulting in a 20-month prison sentence in 2022.

Former CIA officer Kevin Mallory was lured to Shanghai in the spring of 2017 and sold top-secret defense intelligence to China, ultimately receiving a 20-year prison sentence.