Western accusations that Chinese military hackers have broken
into foreign government computers are a variant of the "China
threat" theory, a leading Chinese military scholar said
yesterday.
"China is a responsible country and we never do this kind of
despicable things," said Yang Yi, director of the Institute of
Strategic Studies under the National Defense University.
"As a matter of fact, China has never had so called military
hackers," he said, reacting to allegations against the Chinese
army.
London-based The Guardian reported yesterday that Chinese
hackers have launched online assaults against the UK Parliament and
Foreign Office networks.
The Guadian report came two days after the Financial Times,
citing unnamed officials, said the People's Liberation Army (PLA)
had hacked into a computer system of US Defense Secretary Robert
Gates' office in June.
On the eve of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Beijing
last week, the German language weekly Der Spiegel said computers at
the chancellery and three ministries had been infected by Trojan
horses.
The Financial Times quoted Germany's domestic intelligence
agency as saying that the incident was linked to the PLA.
But no valid proofs on the three allegations have been provided
so far.
"Although we stick to the road of peaceful development, many
countries still see China with suspicion and guess subjectively if
anything strange happens," Yang said.
Technically, hackers in other countries could use insecure
computers and networks in China to disguise their locations and
launch attacks, he said.
"China pursues a defensive strategy and will never be the first
to launch an attack. Any military move is conducted in line with
this strategy," Yang said.
On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the
hacking accusations are "groundless" and only reflect a "Cold War
mentality".
"China has all along been opposed to and forbids criminal
activities that undermine computer networks, including hacking,"
Jiang said.
"Hacking is an international problem that torments China, too.
We are ready to strengthen cooperation with other countries,
including the US, in countering Internet crimes," she said.
(China Daily September 6, 2007)
