US launches psy-ops battle against China, targets PLA anxiety after Xi Jinping's military purge

The C.I.A. has launched a fresh campaign to recruit Chinese military officers as informants, using a new video in Mandarin to appeal to personnel inside the People’s Liberation Army. Released on February 12, the video portrays a fictional mid-ranking officer who denounces his superiors’ power as being built on “countless lies” and warns that anyone could be ruthlessly eliminated. U.S. officials said the online push is managing to penetrate China’s “Great Firewall.” The effort comes shortly after Beijing announced corruption probes into top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, both powerful members of the Central Military Commission, and is seen as an attempt by Washington to exploit internal discord and rebuild a human spy network badly damaged when China killed or jailed dozens of C.I.A. sources between 2010 and 2012.