This author of this challenge is my lovely friend TJ (follow them they’re awesome) TJ has described this challenge as “OSINT + Decryption + Tech-Assisted Forensic Linguistics” 😎

水族馆的一天

我们看到了两只北极熊。
观看鳄鱼喂食很有趣。
当鬣蜥感到受到威胁时，它们会逃到下面的相反地方。
您知道虎也是出色的游泳运动员吗？
希望龟能给我带来好运。
蛙在玻璃容器里唱歌。

间谍的名字是什么？
您能找到哪些最新新闻报道？

The above encrypted text contains the description of a spy. Your task is to figure out:

  1. The name of that spy.
  2. Any recent news reports about the spy.
  3. Bonus question: Does the informant who slipped you this message come from Mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong? Justify your answer.

A few hints to guide you in your hunting journey:

  1. Though we live in the 21st century, cryptography is fairly old.
  2. When in doubt, start where Chinese learners always start: with pinyin.
  3. If you find the commonalities but the name of the spy makes no sense to you, try searching for it anyways. Mental flexibility is important for working in intelligence.
  4. If you manage to find ANY news coverage from this decade, the creator of this riddle would love to see it.
  5. Don’t think too hard.

Solution⌗