🜂 THE DEVIL’S DICTIONARY OF CHINESE OPERATIONS (Extended Edition)
UNITED FRONT WORK DEPARTMENT (UFWD)
Founded: 1920s (formalized 1942), refurbished endlessly
Geographic Focus: Everywhere Chinese communities exist, and everywhere they don’t but might someday
Budget: $1–3 billion/year (speculated), or whatever it takes to buy friendship in bulk
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
A benevolent institution devoted to uniting the world under the comforting belief that everyone secretly agrees with Beijing — they simply require persuasion, incentives, or a gentle reminder from someone who knows their parents.
OPERATION FOX HUNT
Founded: 2014
Geographic Focus: Nations with extradition treaties— and especially those without them
Budget: $100–300 million/year (speculated), plus travel expenses for the politely terrifying emissaries
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
A volunteer repatriation program in which “volunteering” is strongly encouraged. Demonstrates the touching persistence of a state that will never give up on you, no matter how loudly you insist you’ve moved on.
SKY NET
Founded: 2015
Geographic Focus: Bank accounts, shell companies, tax havens, and any sunny resort where fugitives like to hide
Budget: $200–500 million/year (speculated), although the ROI is excellent
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
A divine attempt to prove that you may escape gravity, consequences, or your in-laws — but not the Ministry of Public Security.
THOUSAND TALENTS PROGRAM
Founded: 2008
Geographic Focus: Universities with expensive microscopes
Budget: $1 billion+/year (speculated) across grants, bonuses, and “memory supplements”
Status: Technically “discontinued” in 2020, spiritually ongoing under other names
Definition:
A scientific exchange program that rewards researchers for remembering things with extraordinary detail — especially those things belonging to other labs.
SPAMOUFLAGE DRAGON / DRAGONBRIDGE
Founded: 2017–2019 (discovered in waves)
Geographic Focus: YouTube, Twitter/X, Facebook, TikTok, comment sections nobody should read
Budget: $10–50 million/year (speculated), because astroturf is cheap when bought in bulk
Status: Ongoing, regenerating like a hydra made of emojis
Definition:
A global narrative orchestra in which every musician plays the same note, loudly, repeatedly, and occasionally in the wrong language.
Why two names?
Security researchers enjoy discovering a threat more than they enjoy agreeing on what it should be called.
SHARP POWER DIPLOMACY
Founded: As a term, 2017; as a practice, ancient
Geographic Focus: Universities, NGOs, cultural institutes, and any institution allergic to conflict
Budget: $1–5 billion/year across cultural + political influence channels (speculated)
Status: Eternally ongoing
Definition:
Soft power’s sharper sibling — the one who brings paperwork, conditions, and a gentle warning about future cooperation.
🐼 CYBER OPERATIONS: APT GLOSSARY
(All budgets extremely speculative; China does not publish itemized receipts for cyber-espionage.)
APT1 — “Comment Crew” / “Shanghai Group”
Founded: Early 2000s (publicly exposed 2013)
Geographic Focus: US, Europe, defense and industry targets
Budget: $50–200 million/year (speculated)
Status: Presumed ongoing under restructured units
Definition:
A literary-minded team that leaves comments in places comments were never meant to be left.
APT3 — “Gothic Panda” / “Buckeye”
Founded: Mid-2000s
Geographic Focus: Defense, telecom, aerospace
Budget: $50–150 million/year (speculated)
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
A hacking group proving pandas can indeed be goth — particularly your security logs.
APT10 — “Stone Panda” / “Cloud Hopper”
Founded: Circa 2009–2010
Geographic Focus: Global managed-service providers (MSPs)
Budget: $100–300 million/year (speculated)
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
Professional data hoarders — if it exists on a server, they want a copy for their collection.
APT17 — “DeputyDog”
Founded: Late 2000s
Geographic Focus: US, Japan, Southeast Asia
Budget: $30–100 million/year (speculated)
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
A loyal cyber-retriever that never stops digging through your digital flowerbeds.
APT27 — “Emissary Panda”
Founded: Early 2010s
Geographic Focus: Defense, high tech, Middle East energy
Budget: $40–120 million/year (speculated)
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
Diplomacy practised via malware — the embassy that arrives through your firewall.
APT41 — “Double Dragon” / “Winnti”
Founded: Circa 2012
Geographic Focus: Video games, telecom, healthcare, everything with electricity
Budget: $150–400 million/year (speculated)
Status: Ongoing
Definition:
The perfect work-life balance: state espionage by day, cybercrime by night.
Why so many names?
Because cybersecurity researchers name things like hurricane forecasters—
only with more pandas and less consensus.
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