Latest news with #JianG
CNA
30-04-2025
- Politics
- CNA
China urges Germany to 'stop smearing and vilifying' it in spy case
BEIJING: China on Wednesday (Apr 30) warned Germany against "smearing and vilifying" it after a former aide to a scandal-hit lawmaker from the far-right AfD party was charged over spying on behalf of Beijing. The alleged spy, named by prosecutors as Jian G, is suspected of working with Chinese intelligence since 2002, including while he was an aide to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Maximilian Krah between 2019 and 2024. "We urge the German side to stop smearing and vilifying China, and to take concrete actions to uphold the positive momentum in the development of bilateral relations," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. "The so-called 'China espionage threat' is purely fabricated and malicious slander," Guo said, adding China "has always upheld the principles of mutual respect". Krah was the party's top candidate in last year's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS. Krah has since been welcomed back into the AfD fold and was elected as an MP in the German parliament in February's snap general election. Prosecutors said Jian G, a German national, used his job as Krah's assistant to "gather information on the deliberations and decisions of the European parliament" for Chinese intelligence, including "procuring more than 500 documents, some of which had been classified as particularly sensitive". He is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene. The European Parliament, which had listed Jian Guo as an accredited assistant to Krah, moved to suspend the aide after his arrest in April 2024. Prosecutors said a Chinese national named as Yaqi X has also been charged with helping Jian G to access information on flights and passengers at Leipzig Airport. She worked at a company which provided the airport with logistics services. The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and "people with links to a German arms company". At the time of her arrest in October, news site Der Spiegel reported that Yaqi X. had in particular targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights. Krah's various scandals have not dampened his political fortunes – or indeed those of the AfD more widely. In February's election the party had its best-ever performance, doubling its vote share to more than 20 per cent and becoming the second-biggest group in parliament, with 152 seats out of a total of 630.
Straits Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Far-right German lawmaker's ex-aide charged over spying for China
A former aide to Mr Maximilian Krah, of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has been charged with spying for China. PHOTO: AFP BERLIN - A former aide to a scandal-hit lawmaker from Germany's far-right AfD party has been charged over suspected spying on behalf of China, prosecutors said April 29. The man, named by prosecutors as Jian G, is suspected of working with Chinese intelligence since 2002, including while he was an aide to Alternative for Germany (AfD) European Parliament member Maximilian Krah between 2019 and 2024. Mr Krah was the party's top candidate in 2024's European elections, but was excluded from its delegation after comments in which he minimised the crimes of the Nazis' notorious SS security police. Mr Krah has since been welcomed back into the AfD fold and was elected as an MP in the German Parliament in February's snap general election. Prosecutors said in a statement that Jian G, a German national, used his job as Mr Krah's assistant to 'gather information on the deliberations and decisions of the European Parliament' for Chinese intelligence, including 'procuring more than 500 documents, some of which had been classified as particularly sensitive'. He is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. This included posing as an opponent of the Chinese government on social media in order to gain contacts in the opposition scene. The European Parliament, which had listed Jian Guo as an accredited assistant to Mr Krah, moved to suspend the aide after his arrest in April 2024. Prosecutors said a Chinese national named as Yaqi X has also been charged with helping Jian G to access information on flights and passengers at Leipzig Airport. She worked at a company which provided the airport with logistics services. The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and 'people with links to a German arms company'. At the time of her arrest in October, news site Der Spiegel reported that Yaqi X had in particular targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights. Mr Krah's various scandals have not dampened his political fortunes – or indeed those of the AfD more widely. In February's election, the party had its best-ever performance, doubling its vote share to more than 20 per cent and becoming the second-biggest group in parliament, with 152 seats out of a total of 630. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former aide of far-right German EU lawmaker charged with espionage
German prosecutors on Tuesday charged a former aide of far-right German politician and European Parliament lawmaker Maximilian Krah with spying for Chinese intelligence. Prosecutors in the south-western city of Karlsruhe said the former employee as well as an accomplice repeatedly passed on information on negotiations and decisions made in the European Parliament to a Chinese intelligence agency, while also spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. Krah was the top candidate of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in last year's European Parliament elections, but his campaign was plagued by scandal. The AfD was kicked out of the right-wing Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament after Krah made highly controversial comments defending members of the Nazi SS paramilitary in an interview with an Italian newspaper. The party subsequently expelled him from its delegation to the European Parliament. His former aide, identified as Jian G, a German citizen, has been working for a Chinese secret service since 2002, according to the federal prosecutor's office. He was arrested in the eastern city of Dresden in April 2024 on accusations of particularly serious espionage. He is said to have obtained more than 500 documents, "including some that the European Parliament had categorized as particularly sensitive." Shortly after the arrest, German authorities searched Jian G's and Krah's offices in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Euronews
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
AfD's Krah to join German parliament despite controversial past
Ex-MEP and former lead candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the European elections Maximillian Krah will join Germany's new parliament, his spokesman confirmed to Euronews. Krah made the headlines in 2024 after he resigned from the AfD's federal executive board shortly before the European elections over controversial comments to Italian media that people who wore the uniforms of the notorious World War II-era Nazi SS unit were not "automatically a criminal". He tended his resignation upon pressure from other far-right parties including France's Rassemblement National (RN), Italy's Lega and the Danish People's Party (DF). The AfD were then expelled from the now-dissolved Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament. "I recognise that factual and nuanced statements from me are being misused as a pretext to damage our party," Krah said at the time in a post on X. China espionage scandal still unresolved The scandal was not the only one to hit Krah in the run-up to the European elections after one of his employees was arrested on suspicion of espionage for Beijing. His assistant, named as Jian G, was apprehended by German authorities for "repeatedly passing on information" about the European Parliament to his "intelligence client" in China. Krah's offices in Brussels were subsequently raided. In October, a woman working for a logistics service company at Leipzig/Halle airport was also arrested in Leipzig on suspicion of passing on information to Jian G. In response to her arrest, Krah posted on X that "there is no connection between today's arrest and my work." "The only reproach I make to myself in connection with my Chinese-born ex-employee is that I did not pay more attention," Krah said. His spokesperson told Euronews that Jian G is now in custody, with a court set to decide on whether he is guilty. The AfD came second in Germany's elections over the weekend with 20% of the vote, a result that will increase its share of seats in the Bundestag from 76 to 152. After winning in his constituency of Chemnitzer Umland-Erzgebirgskreis II in Saxony, Krah is poised to sit alongside Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, who will be the AfD's new parliamentary group leaders. Krah won a direct mandate with 44% of the vote, beating the Christian Democratic Union's candidate Sophie Pojar, who scored 27%. The former MEP will join the parliamentary group alongside Matthias Helferich, who was elected to the Bundestag in 2021 but renounced his seat after courting controversy within the AfD for statements he made about Nazis.
