Gordon Corera

But actually, at the Washington Post, when they hear Hong Kong, they're like, whoa, this sounds kind of risky.

But actually, at the Washington Post, when they hear Hong Kong, they're like, whoa, this sounds kind of risky.

Yeah. And it would be an obvious kind of suspicion, which is, is this someone who's basically a Chinese spy who's gone to China or a part of China in the case of Hong Kong? Or a defector, maybe. Or a defector, you know, with the documents. And therefore, you know, you're into kind of foreign spy world.

Yeah. And it would be an obvious kind of suspicion, which is, is this someone who's basically a Chinese spy who's gone to China or a part of China in the case of Hong Kong? Or a defector, maybe. Or a defector, you know, with the documents. And therefore, you know, you're into kind of foreign spy world.

Yeah. And it would be an obvious kind of suspicion, which is, is this someone who's basically a Chinese spy who's gone to China or a part of China in the case of Hong Kong? Or a defector, maybe. Or a defector, you know, with the documents. And therefore, you know, you're into kind of foreign spy world.

But it is interesting because I recently spoke to someone who was a very senior intelligence official at the time about these kind of suspicions. You know, could he have been a Chinese spy or a Russian spy, given where he ended up? And they said they looked very hard at this at the time, as you'd expect them to do in the intelligence community.

But it is interesting because I recently spoke to someone who was a very senior intelligence official at the time about these kind of suspicions. You know, could he have been a Chinese spy or a Russian spy, given where he ended up? And they said they looked very hard at this at the time, as you'd expect them to do in the intelligence community.

But it is interesting because I recently spoke to someone who was a very senior intelligence official at the time about these kind of suspicions. You know, could he have been a Chinese spy or a Russian spy, given where he ended up? And they said they looked very hard at this at the time, as you'd expect them to do in the intelligence community.

And they said the Russians and Chinese were both as surprised as the Americans were when he turned up in Hong Kong or when he eventually emerges and goes public in Hong Kong. So in other words, they didn't know that he was there. They're like, who's this guy?

And they said the Russians and Chinese were both as surprised as the Americans were when he turned up in Hong Kong or when he eventually emerges and goes public in Hong Kong. So in other words, they didn't know that he was there. They're like, who's this guy?

And they said the Russians and Chinese were both as surprised as the Americans were when he turned up in Hong Kong or when he eventually emerges and goes public in Hong Kong. So in other words, they didn't know that he was there. They're like, who's this guy?

And you imagine that this is basically the US intelligence community spying on Russian and Chinese communications and seeing that they're surprised by it, which suggests they didn't have advanced knowledge.

And you imagine that this is basically the US intelligence community spying on Russian and Chinese communications and seeing that they're surprised by it, which suggests they didn't have advanced knowledge.

And you imagine that this is basically the US intelligence community spying on Russian and Chinese communications and seeing that they're surprised by it, which suggests they didn't have advanced knowledge.

Yeah, it is a problem for him. And his argument or the argument of those people who met him and talked to him about it was that he saw Hong Kong as a kind of no man's land. And it's worth saying Hong Kong, a former British colony, but at this point, back to Chinese control after 97, but under one country, two systems. So China didn't have full control.

Yeah, it is a problem for him. And his argument or the argument of those people who met him and talked to him about it was that he saw Hong Kong as a kind of no man's land. And it's worth saying Hong Kong, a former British colony, but at this point, back to Chinese control after 97, but under one country, two systems. So China didn't have full control.

Yeah, it is a problem for him. And his argument or the argument of those people who met him and talked to him about it was that he saw Hong Kong as a kind of no man's land. And it's worth saying Hong Kong, a former British colony, but at this point, back to Chinese control after 97, but under one country, two systems. So China didn't have full control.

And it's only actually after Snowden that China really prevailed. puts its national security law into practice in Hong Kong and really takes the place over. So at that time, it still had a kind of slightly more freewheeling, ambiguous role, but it is still technically part of China.

And it's only actually after Snowden that China really prevailed. puts its national security law into practice in Hong Kong and really takes the place over. So at that time, it still had a kind of slightly more freewheeling, ambiguous role, but it is still technically part of China.

And it's only actually after Snowden that China really prevailed. puts its national security law into practice in Hong Kong and really takes the place over. So at that time, it still had a kind of slightly more freewheeling, ambiguous role, but it is still technically part of China.