Chinese campaign warns of spy risks found in wedding photography, gifted farm equipment

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Documentary series aired on state TV says cover stories, tech tools and scope of espionage ‘far exceed what most people can imagine’

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William ZhengPublished: 2:14pm, 27 May 2026Foreign spies in China have disguised themselves as wedding photographers near naval ports, or have collected mapping data using advanced radar and GPS optical lenses mounted on cars under the cover of autonomous driving research, according to China’s top body protecting state secrets.

The National Administration of State Secrets Protection warned of foreign spies’ “eyes in the dark” in its latest anti-espionage documentary aired on CCTV national television on Tuesday.

“In real life, the methods, tools, covertness and scope of espionage employed by foreign intelligence agencies [against China] far exceed what most people can imagine,” said the first episode of the administration’s five-part documentary named “On your guard: be vigilant against the risks of leaks around us”.

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The CCTV broadcast said foreign spy agencies were operating under a variety of covers, acknowledging that China faced greater challenges in protecting its secrets amid the rapid advancement of technology innovation.

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It cited a case of a sea cucumber farmer in the northeastern port of Dalian surnamed Zhang who was approached by a foreign intelligence agency disguised as an NGO who offered him “seawater quality monitoring equipment for free”.

The programme said it was later discovered that the equipment contained a 360-degree camera that continuously monitored military activity and maritime traffic in nearby coastal areas, with the data sent to foreign intelligence agencies.

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Dalian is a strategic hub for the Chinese navy, supporting a wide range of operations, from shipbuilding and aircraft carrier construction to submarine and air force deployments.

“What appeared to be a benevolent act of technical assistance was in reality a meticulously planned spying operation targeting sensitive areas of China. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of the many disguised forms of surveillance,” the documentary said.

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