(TibetanReview.net, Aug02’23) – The party-state of China which fears its own citizens more than any external threat has called for the mobilization of the entire nation in counter-espionage work to protect the country’s political system.
A system that makes it “normal” for the masses to participate in counter-espionage must be established, Reuters Aug 1 cited China’s Ministry of State Security, the main agency overlooking foreign intelligence and anti-spying, as having written in its first post on its WeChat account, which went live on Jul 31.
In protecting itself from espionage, China would need the participation of its people in building a defence line, the state security ministry was reported to have written.
Political security is the top priority of national security, and the “core” of political security is the security of China’s political system, the Minister of State Security Chen Yixin was reported to have earlier written in an article in a Chinese legal magazine in July.
And “the most fundamental is to safeguard the leadership and ruling position of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics,” Chen had said.
The effort to encourage citizens to join counter-espionage work includes creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activity as well as commending and rewarding them, the state security ministry was cited as saying on its WeChat account.
The call to popularise anti-spying work among the masses follows an expansion of China’s counter-espionage law that took effect in July.
The law bans the transfer of information related to national security and interests without specifying them. The murkiness of the law has alarmed the United States, which says foreign companies in China could be punished for regular business activities, the report noted.
The revised law allows authorities carrying out an anti-espionage probe to gain access to data, electronic equipment, and information on personal property.