From 2019 to late 2022, an officer in the PRC’s Ministry of State Security spy agency going by the name of “Daniel Woo” used former Belgian senator Frank Creyelman as an asset to influence debates in Belgium and Europe on issues like the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. In their message exchange, Woo also told Creyelman that the PRC intended to “divide the US-EU relationship”. The messages also contained evidence of payments from Woo to Creyelman. In response to these revelations, the Belgian Prime Minister called the PRC “sometimes very hostile” and Creyelman was kicked out of his party, the Vlaams Belang. Creyelman’s brother, Steve, a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament, also had to step down from his position as chair of the Military Purchases Committee after media revealed that he at least knew about his brother’s dealings with the PRC. The case also exposed a gap in Belgian legislation as, as of December 2023, there were no offenses under which the conduct of the Creyelman brothers or the Chinese handler could be prosecuted.