The Czech police detained Yang Yiming, a man suspected of working for Chinese intelligence under journalistic cover as a correspondent for the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated newspaper Guangming Daily in Prague. Yang is charged with unauthorized activity on behalf of a foreign power, a new offense introduced into Czech law to target espionage activities. Czech Security Information Service (BIS) conducted the detention following close cooperation with the police. Yang interviewed Czech politicians—mainly those critical of the EU and Western policies—to portray them favorably to Chinese readers and potentially gather intelligence. The political figures interviewed include Jan Zahradil, Kateřina Konečná, and Jiří Paroubek, with similar approaches reportedly in Slovakia. Yang faces up to five years in prison and is currently in pre-trial detention. The case has prompted the Czech government to reconsider accreditation procedures for foreign journalists. Analysts noted the broader scope of Chinese espionage in the Czech Republic covering political, industrial, and diaspora monitoring activities. The law's introduction aimed primarily at Russian spies but now applied to Chinese intelligence for the first time. Current government debates focus on refining the legal provisions rather than abolishing them.

The Czech police detained Yang Yiming, a man suspected of working for Chinese intelligence under journalistic cover as a correspondent for the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated newspaper Guangming Daily in Prague. Yang is charged with unauthorized activity on behalf of a foreign power, a new offense introduced into Czech law to target espionage activities. Czech Security Information Service (BIS) conducted the detention following close cooperation with the police. Yang interviewed Czech politicians—mainly those critical of the EU and Western policies—to portray them favorably to Chinese readers and potentially gather intelligence. The political figures interviewed include Jan Zahradil, Kateřina Konečná, and Jiří Paroubek, with similar approaches reportedly in Slovakia. Yang faces up to five years in prison and is currently in pre-trial detention. The case has prompted the Czech government to reconsider accreditation procedures for foreign journalists. Analysts noted the broader scope of Chinese espionage in the Czech Republic covering political, industrial, and diaspora monitoring activities. The law's introduction aimed primarily at Russian spies but now applied to Chinese intelligence for the first time. Current government debates focus on refining the legal provisions rather than abolishing them.