• The CIA released two Chinese-language videos to recruit officials disenchanted with the Chinese Communist Party.
• The videos depict fictional scenarios where officials experience fear over political purges and corruption.
• They are part of the CIA's broader strategy to enhance human intelligence gathering against China.
• The campaign follows a similar successful outreach to disaffected Russians.
• Officials can contact the CIA securely via dark web instructions provided in the videos.

The CIA has launched a recruitment effort targeting disillusioned Chinese officials through two newly released Chinese-language videos. These videos, which depict fictional scenarios involving members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), aim to entice them to leak sensitive information to the United States. They highlight concerns over corruption and political cleansing within the Chinese leadership, illustrating the precarious positions of the officials portrayed. "One of the primary roles of the CIA is to collect intelligence for the president and for our policymakers," stated CIA Director John Ratcliffe, emphasizing the urgency of the initiative, which follows earlier successful campaigns aimed at Russian informants, according to SCMP, Al Jazeera, India Times, Business Insider, and ABC News.

In these videos, the main characters express fears for their family's safety and frustrations towards the ruling regime. They witness colleagues disappearing amid anti-corruption purges instigated by President Xi Jinping, underscoring a pervasive atmosphere of anxiety among officials. The characters ultimately decide to reach out to the CIA for help, believing that "heaven helps those who help themselves," a phrase highlighted in one of the videos. This approach underscores the agency's strategy to target individuals dissatisfied with China’s political environment, as noted by experts in the field, according to SCMP, Al Jazeera, India Times, Business Insider, and ABC News.

The CIA has effectively employed similar techniques in the past, drawing on digital media and targeting specific groups in oppressive regimes. The videos are part of a broader effort to recruit spies in countries like China, Iran, and North Korea, aligning with the agency's goal to adapt to contemporary intelligence challenges. They include instructions for securely contacting the CIA through the dark web, reflecting a modern approach to intelligence gathering, according to SCMP, Al Jazeera, India Times, Business Insider, and ABC News.