The U.S. government has announced that a U.S. diplomat was dismissed for concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese woman.
According to AFP, U.S. State Department spokesperson Pigott said on the 8th that the State Department had officially terminated the employment of a foreign affairs official, who admitted to hiding a romantic relationship with a Chinese citizen. This Chinese citizen is linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
The State Department did not disclose the name of the male employee, and stated that the man claimed the Chinese woman he dated “might be a spy,” but did not indicate whether there was any evidence of her engaging in espionage activities.
The State Department said the dismissed male employee stated that his partner’s father “had direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”
The State Department said that after President Trump returned to office, he signed an executive order requiring all employees to “faithfully carry out the President’s policies.” This dismissal is the first since Trump’s signing of the executive order.
Pigott said: “We have a zero-tolerance policy for any employees found compromising our national security.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. announced a ban on U.S. employees stationed in China from engaging in romantic relationships with locals.