China's Spy Wang Liqiang Defects To Australia, Offer ASIO Trove Of Information CCP Espionage Tactics

'Once I go back, I will be dead': Spy who has revealed China's espionage here and in other countries and has defected to Australia fears he will be killed if he returns home to his family

Wang 'William' Liqiang, 27, served as a Chinese intelligence operative since 2014, before defecting to Australia earlier this year

A high-ranking Chinese spy who has defected to Australia has shed light on China's extraordinary efforts to interfere in foreign governments.

Wang 'William' Liqiang served as one of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) intelligence operatives, playing a key role in the country's influence over Hong Kongese and Taiwanese politics since 2014. 

In an interview with The Age, Liqiang, 27, revealed how he was a part of a highly-elaborate scheme to fight pro-democracy movements, infiltrating local media and even student networks.  

He also admitted to meeting with the head of a spy ring allegedly operating in Australia.   

Liqiang described in detail how he targeted organisations at universities in Hong Kong, luring students with opportunities and 'petty favours' in exchange for their work.

'I exchanged ideas with them and learnt about their thinking, then I influenced them with patriotism, guiding them to love the country, love the Party and our leaders, and fight back strongly against those independence and democracy activists in Hong Kong,' he said.  

Liqiang's efforts would effectively help China maintain a strong political grip in the sovereign states where pro-democracy movements are on the rise.  

As tensions between China and Hong Kong flared, he 'silenced' dissidents by using students who pretended to support Hong Kong independence to obtain their information before 'verbally' attacking them.

The spy operation also ensured all bases were covered by maintaining some level of influence in the media by appointing pro-CCP figures at news outlets.  

In Taiwan, which had been preparing for an election last year, Liqiang described building a 'cyber army' of students in order to sway political opinion in their favour, as well as censoring news.

The Chinese spy was a part of a highly-elaborate scheme to fight pro-democracy movements, in Taiwan and Hong Kong, filtrating local media and even student networks. Pictured  protesters rally against the extradition bill in Hong Kong in June

Since coming to power, President Xi Jinping has invested heavily in the People's Liberation Army Navy in a bid to project Chinese influence across the Pacific and beyond

'If we wanted to attack someone, we could instantly collapse their Facebook', he said, explaining they used fake IP addresses to pump out anti-democracy messages.  

Liqiang said he became involved in the covert operation after landing a job at investment company China Innovation Investment Limited (CIIL) in Hong Kong, ran by CEO Xin Xiang.

At the time, he believed he was doing a service to his country as a patriot, as opposed to being a spy, he said. 

His five-year stint working for one of the world's most powerful regimes came to an end after he was ordered to give up his identity to work as a spy in Taiwan ahead of its 2020 election.

Liqiang had grappled with the idea of devoting his life to espionage work after arriving in Sydney earlier this year to visit his son and wife, who is studying at university.

Tactics