Latest on YouTube: Video of Chinese Gen discussing spy cases

It wasnt clear when or where Maj Gen Jin Yinan made the comments.

Footage of a Chinese general discussing sensitive spying cases has been leaked onto video sharing site YouTube,in what appears to be an embarrassing failure of secrecy for the usually tightlipped military.

It wasnt clear when or where Maj Gen Jin Yinan made the comments. Calls to the National Defence University where Jin is a lecturer rang unanswered.

While some of the cases had been announced before,few details had been released,while others involving the military had been entirely secret. Among those Jin discussed was that of former Ambassador to South Korea Li Bin,who was sentenced to seven years for corruption. Jin said Li had actually been discovered passing secrets to South Korea that compromised Chinas position in North Korean nuclear disarmament talks,but the allegations were too embarrassing to make public and graft charges were brought instead.

Similar treatment was handed out to the former head of Chinas nuclear power programme,Kang Rixin,who was sentenced to life in prison last November on charges of corruption. Jin said Kang had in fact peddled secrets about Chinas civilian nuclear programme to a foreign nation that he did not identify,but that was considered too sensitive to bring up in court. Jin also talked about Tong Daning,an official from Chinas social security fund,who was executed in 2006 after being convicted on charges of spying for rival Taiwan. Jin said Tong had passed information to the islands leaders about Chinas currency regime,allowing them to avoid massive losses due to exchange rate changes.