NPR

Chinese Spies Tried To Recruit Him On LinkedIn. Now He's Preaching Constant Vigilance

Former diplomat Jonas Parello-Plesner says he experienced China's attempts of infiltrating the West first-hand, and that the country is expanding its influence around the world beyond traditional espionage.
According to former Danish diplomat Jonas Parello-Plesner, China is not only perfecting its espionage game, but also expanding its influence around the world through other means. (Fred Dufour/Getty Images)

For all the controversy surrounding Russian spies, one former diplomat says it’s China the U.S. should be worried about — and he knows from experience.

The federal government needs to be vigilant about the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party trying to influence people in the U.S., says Jonas Parello-Plesner, a former Danish diplomat who the Chinese failed to recruit.

Parello-Plesner is a fellow. He saw the subject he studies in practice in 2011 when the Chinese tried to recruit him through the professional networking platform LinkedIn.

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