The individual surnamed Zhang “provided a large number of top secret and classified state secrets to foreign intelligence agencies,” the Ministry of State Security said in a post to its official WeChat account. […] He was recruited and became a “puppet” after leaving that job and began handing foreign spy agencies state secrets in exchange for cash, the ministry said.

China classifies death penalty statistics as a state secret, though rights groups including Amnesty believe thousands of people are executed in the country every year.

Beijing has stepped up dark warnings that foreign powers are seeking to clip the country’s rise. Beijing has warned that spies are working to lure loyal Chinese to betray their country, often in lurid and unusual ways.

Its highly-secretive Ministry of State Security has also taken to sharing news of its findings on social media. In September, it warned students with access to sensitive information against falling for “handsome men” or “beautiful women” that might entice them to spy.

China and Western powers have long traded accusations of spying but only recently started to disclose details of alleged individual cases.