Legislators is quick to condemn new Chinagate scandals after Russiagate

After the European Parliament was faced with new espionage claims, members responded violently.

The arrest of Maximilian Krah’s certified assistant has sparked astonishment and fury. Krah is a member of the far-right Identify and Democracy (ID) party and has sat with the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) since 2019.

A lawmaker’s team has named the suspect Jian Guo, and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office has charged him with being “an employee of the Chinese secret service” and “repeatedly passing on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence client.”

A suspension of Guo’s employment was subsequently imposed.

Krah did not have “any additional information” to provide and heard about the arrest “from the press” on Tuesday morning, according to his brief statement.

A charge of espionage on behalf of a foreign power is grave, the MEP said. “If the allegations prove true, it will result in the immediate termination of Mr. Guo’s employment with me.”

Several lawmakers allegedly accepted money from a pro-Russia interference network in exchange for spreading talking points and narratives friendly to the Kremlin. The hemicycle is currently battling separate allegations of a cash-for-favours scheme, so the revelations come at a troubling time.

Officials in Belgium and the Czech Republic are spearheading the investigation, which allegedly includes legislators from Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands, and Hungary.

“The cash payments did not take place in Belgium, but the interference does,” said Belgian Prime Minister De Croo earlier this month. “As Belgium is the seat of the EU institutions, we have a responsibility to uphold every citizen’s right to a free and safe vote.”

The role of MEPs in the operation remains unknown. Following more information from law enforcement, Roberta Metsola, president of the Parliament, informed Euronews that she is prepared to waive the immunity of those under investigation.

On Tuesday, legislators wasted little time in denouncing the new Chinagate scandal and demanding an internal investigation, even as the so-called Russiagate scandal was still causing ripples. Voting then proceeded after a short discussion of the matter in the Strasbourg plenary.

The head of the center-right European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, condemned the AfD as “unpatriotic” and pronounced the accusations “very serious.”

“Whoever votes for the AfD gets Putin and China,” stated Weber.

The worries were also voiced by his socialist colleague Iratxe García Pérez, who stressed that the connection to Krah, a prominent far-right candidate, was not “coincidental.”

Terry Reintke, co-chair of the Greens party, said at a news conference that an approved assistant such as Jian Guo may have had easy access to secret proceedings and communications with Chinese dissidents.

“These questions are related because we see autocratic regimes trying to influence policy-making using the European Parliament for this and potentially also trying to influence the European elections,” said Reintke.

It should be “linked” the two investigations, she said, as Maximillian Krah’s name is already in the Russiangate. The news organization that is under investigation, Voice of Europe, is one that Krah has denied receiving payment to influence.

For some time, skepticism has been growing. “I hope there will be a speedy clarification now that the German authorities have acted,” said Reinhard Bütikofer, a Green MEP and head of the parliament’s delegation for relations with China, speaking to Euronews.

“The voters have to have a chance to make their decisions knowing full well whether some politicians have been actively pursuing Chinese interests instead of representing their voters,” according to him.

Increasing disapproval
In response to the announcement, the liberal organization Renew Europe urged Metsola to immediately begin tightening security measures for the Parliament’s employees and to deprive any employee under investigation of their access credentials until the inquiry is over.

As a political banner, the extreme right in Europe claims to be protecting our countries and our fellow people. “The interests they are defending are those of Moscow and Beijing,” said Valérie Hayer, head of Renew Europe, who urged voters to stop the emergence of the extreme right in the next elections.

Another liberal, Guy Verhofstadt, remarked, “Sovereignty for sale!” about her.

Protests over Krah’s assistant’s detention were “not surprised” by Anna Fotyga, a hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) member from Poland.

“After spending 10 years in Brussels and delivering alerts about threats emanating from Russia, China, Iran and other hostile regimes, I am well aware that it is not an isolated case,” Fotyga said on Facebook.

While ECR and ID have certain shared ideological views—for example, a strong distaste for the Green Deal and the New Pact on Migration—they often disagree on the best course of action for the European Union in response to Chinese and Russian aggression. The policy of “de-coupling” would cause a downturn, according to Krah’s December prediction. (The European Union is using a “de-risking” approach toward China, which aims to keep connections going while reducing vulnerable dependence.)

“You can’t change China. How about that? No. Am I able to make a change? No. Do war, sanctions, and economic warfare serve our interests? “Absolutely not,” Krah informed the assembly.”We have to accept the world as it is, even if we don’t like it, and get the best out of it for the people of Europe.”

Beijing into the conflict as the European Parliament slammed the government. The most recent claims, which include the Monday arrest of three German citizens, have been condemned by a foreign ministry spokesman as “disinformation” and a “malicious smear” that aim to “undermine the atmosphere of cooperation” between China and Europe.

The spokeswoman expressed the hope that Germany’s decision-makers would move beyond their Cold War mindset and refrain from manipulating politics in a way that promotes anti-China sentiment, as reported by the Associated Press.

Not only have Russiagate and Chinagate rocked the European Parliament this term, but in December 2022, claims surfaced that Qatar and Morocco had doled out large sums of money and expensive gifts to members of the chamber and their staff in return for favorable treatment.

As a result of the media hysteria around the so-called Qatargate, the Parliament’s reputation took a major hit, and new regulations governing openness and behavior were imposed.