Even more ironic considering that China already geofences itself and using a VPN it pretty much a requirements if you want to communicate with the outside world.

Chances are that these hackers are bypassing that filter without even realizing it.

Chinese state-employed hackers don't have to worry about VPNs.

I wonder how many of these "state-employed hackers" are just random criminals and their bots, doing regular criminal stuff like stealing money from bank accounts.

I easily see people claiming they are the target of a foreign government because it gives them importance and it is less shameful than a spam botnet.