China’s MSS discloses case of students’ application materials illegally tampered with anti-China content

China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Friday disclosed a case of a study abroad service agency illegally tampering with a large amount of anti-China content in application materials of Chinese students to increase their chances of successful admission. 

The ministry said the operation is not only highly irresponsible toward young students, but also damages the image of the country and poses a threat to national security.

According to the MSS, a student surnamed Zhang purchased an “elite VIP” service from a study abroad service agency, which has a professional team to assist in the plan of studying abroad. 

The agency’s leader Xiao Rui told Zhang that a certain country’s universities have opened a “green channel” for Chinese students wanting to study there, and that the success rate could be greatly increased if they added anti-China content in the application materials.

As a result, Zhang’s application documents were “implanted” with a large number of false contents catering to anti-China bias, which makes Zhang a victim of the agency’s illegal act, according to the MSS. 

The abnormal behavior of the agency caught the attention of the national security authorities. After a thorough investigation, the study abroad service agency and its responsible individuals were dealt with according to the law in May 2024, said the MSS.

In recent years, some countries have continued to tighten international education policies, while trying to lure young students to carry out anti-China activities with the promise of helping them study abroad, the MSS noted.

Individual study abroad service agencies prioritize economic interests over national security, catering to anti-China rhetoric and potentially endangering national security by encouraging students to fabricate false resumes and images for profit, said the MSS.

Some institutions have loosened oversight of their foreign education teams, leading to the hiring of unqualified foreign teachers.

Detailed implementation rules of China’s Counter-Espionage Law stipulate that fabricating, distorting facts, publishing, disseminating information that endangers national security, or producing, disseminating, publishing audiovisual products or other publications that endanger national security, constitutes conduct other than acts of espionage that endangers national security.