In a climate of heightened espionage tensions between China and the United States, the Chinese Ministry of State Security spotlighted, on its official Weibo, the incident of Douglas Mackiernan, the first CIA officer to die overseas, who was killed in China in 1950.
Recent revelations provide context to this tension. On July 20th, CIA Director William Burns admitted at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado that the intelligence networks they had been cultivating in China suffered a devastating counterintelligence setback over a decade ago, and efforts were underway to rebuild. The Washington Times highlighted this as the CIA’s first public acknowledgment of what officials term an “intelligence disaster.” Reports indicate that from 2010 to 2012, as many as 30 new CIA operatives in China were detained by China’s Ministry of State Security across various locations, including within China.
The Ministry, involved in intelligence gathering, counter-espionage, political defense, among other roles, stands as China’s most extensive and active foreign intelligence agency. It also partakes in domestic security matters.
Further intensifying the atmosphere, the official WeChat account of China’s Ministry of State Security reported on August 11th that they had uncovered a recent espionage case linked to the CIA. This announcement marked the first espionage case shared since the WeChat account’s inception. A post on August 12th by “Politics Seen,” affiliated with the Beijing Youth Daily, emphasized that the disclosure, specifically naming the CIA, was a significant challenge and retort to foreign intelligence chiefs. Additionally, on August 21st, CCTV briefly reported another espionage case linked to the CIA involving an individual named Hao during his time studying in Japan.
Douglas Mackiernan’s incident is rooted in these complex ties. Mackiernan, at the time, was operating in China undercover as the U.S. Deputy Consul in Tihwa (modern-day Urumqi). After his skills were recognized by the CIA, he was dispatched to Xinjiang. Using his position, Mackiernan not only meddled in Chinese affairs but also installed secret monitoring equipment in Xinjiang to gather intelligence about the Soviet Union.
After the liberation of Xinjiang, Mackiernan continued his espionage endeavors. However, his operations came to a tragic end in April 1950, when he faced an altercation with armed locals in Tibet.
While in Xinjiang, Mackiernan nurtured a vast spy network, financially backing them and supplying arms. Before his exit, he held meetings with key spy leaders, urging continued resistance against the Chinese Communist Party. This network faced dismantling by 1952, with its key operatives, including leader Usman, captured and executed.
Mackiernan’s operations and the consequences that followed serve as a stark reminder of the intricate espionage warfare and its repercussions, especially in the backdrop of the recent revelations and confrontations.