Tension between Washington and Beijing over the spy balloon saga is just the latest chapter in a complex history between East and West. We speak to a former State Department psychiatrist who has profiled Chinese leader Xi Jinping and an NSA expert who’s shocked by China's expanding digital influence. We also examine a top-secret operation, Project Chestnut, that led to China’s curious tour of the CIA’s HQ.
Inside Xi's mind
China expert and ex-US State Department psychiatrist Kenneth Dekleva has stepped inside the mind of Chinese President Xi Jinping and wouldn’t bet against him. He considers Xi to be highly intelligent and possibly the most powerful leader in the world today. SPYSCAPE sat down with Dekleva to talk about the ‘spychology’ behind the US-China ‘spy balloon’ standoff and his fascinating profiling techniques.
The US Army tapped Charity Wright to analyze Chinese intelligence and cyber espionage more than a decade ago. By the time she moved into signals intelligence at the NSA and published her 2021 report, the sprawling scale of China's digital influence stunned both Charity and her readers. Not only had the balance of global power shifted, the research indicated that China could shape the future of the planet.
Taiwan controls 60% of the chip market that supplies major US tech companies like Apple, so a cyber attack on Taiwan could cause mayhem to US hospitals, power grids, and even laptops and iPhones. CyCraft techies Chad Duffy and C.K. Chen are trying to stop that from happening but with the thorny issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty straining US-China relations, can these two computer jocks really pull it off?
US-China relations had thawed in 1979 when President Jimmy Carter established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China. They shared a common enemy: the Soviet Union. The US wanted to use the mountains near the USSR border to spy on a Soviet nuclear test site but Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping wanted something in return: US spy technology and a tour of the CIA’s inner sanctum.
Get a FREE copy of a hot new thriller, spy story, or crime novel every Monday with a special Story Mondays ticket to SPYSCAPE HQ. Next Monday it's Anthony Award-winning writer Alex Segura delivering a "masterful 1970s literary mystery" NPR set in the world of comics that is "as engaging as Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” Sun Sentinel. Don't miss your FREE copy when you experience SPYSCAPE HQ next Monday.
Since the 5th century BC, Chinese military general Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has inspired leaders from Napoleon to former CIA Director General David Petraeus. Even Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is a fan: “I bet on sure things. Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.” SPYSCAPE finds its inspiration in Chapter 13: The Use of Spies.
While film-goers often focus on Hollywood blockbusters, China is the world’s second-largest box office and its contribution to popular culture is considerable. While many may be familiar with the Academy Award-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, China’s film industry is also fueled by sensational spy movies from Cliff Walkers to the sword-wielding 'wuxia' epic Shadow.
