Nvidia scandal: In 1960s, a Chinese spy pretended to be a woman for 20 years to honeytrap French diplomat; here's the bizarre story

The Nvidia scandal involving CEO Jensen Huang and a woman reportedly linked to Chinese intelligence have once again put the spotlight on China's honeytrapping tricks. One of the most extraordinary Chinese honetrapping case dates back to 1960s when a Chinese opera singer maintained a romantic relationship with a French diplomat for nearly two decades by convincing him that he was a woman. The diplomat, Bernard Boursicot, was persuaded to hand over sensitive French Embassy documents to Chinese intelligence. The case of the Chinese spy, Shi Pei Pu, later inspired the award-winning Broadway play M. Butterfly.

A Chinese male spy, a French diplomat and a 20-year affair

As per Wikipedia and LA Times, the Chinese operative met the young Boursicot in 1964 when he was deployed at French Embassy in Beijing during a Christmas party. Their relationship eventually turned romantic. Strangely Shi convinced Boursicot that he was actually a woman who was pretending to be a man. Boursicot accepted the explanation and continued the relationship for 20 years without discovering Shi's biological sex.

When Boursicot left China for overseas assignments, Shi claimed to have given birth to their child in his absence. He even presented a young boy as their son. The child, known as Shi Du Du, was later identified as a Uyghur boy from China's Xinjiang region who had reportedly been sold by his mother and adopted by Shi.

How did the affair turn into an espionage scandal?

After Boursicot returned to China in the late 1960s, Chinese security officials reportedly discovered the relationship. According to Boursicot, he feared that Shi could face serious consequences because of his relationship with a foreign diplomat. He subsequently began passing French Embassy documents through Shi to a Chinese intelligence contact. Boursicot continued providing information even when he was transferred to Mongolia during the late 1970s, through Shi.

The relationship eventually came under scrutiny after Boursicot arranged for Shi and their purported son to move to France in 1982 using diplomatic visas. French counterintelligence authorities became suspicious of the arrangement and began investigating the couple. On June 30, 1983, French authorities arrested Boursicot on espionage charges. Shi was arrested shortly afterwards. Both were convicted of espionage in 1986 and sentenced to six years in prison.

When did Boursicot discover Shi was a man?

The truth about Shi's sex became one of the most sensational aspects of the trial. Boursicot later told The New York Times that he discovered the truth only during the court proceedings. During the trial, Shi described how he had concealed his biological sex throughout the relationship. Their sexual encounters were reportedly rare, brief and took place in darkness, helping Shi maintain the deception.

Boursicot said he felt betrayed. He had believed Shi was a woman and had accepted the explanation that cultural traditions accounted for Shi's reluctance to be physically intimate. Shi, however, testified that he had never explicitly told Boursicot that he was female but had also never corrected his assumption.

French President François Mitterrand pardoned Shi in 1987, after he had served 11 months in prison. Shi subsequently remained in Paris and continued performing in smaller opera productions.

The extraordinary relationship between Shi and Boursicot became the inspiration for American playwright David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly. The play, which premiered on Broadway in 1988, reimagined the relationship between a French diplomat and a Chinese opera performer and explored themes of deception, identity, gender and cultural stereotypes. Actor BD Wong played Song Liling, the Chinese opera singer and spy inspired by Shi Pei Pu, in the original Broadway production. M. Butterfly went on to win the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play.