Since China’s secretive spy agency -- the Ministry of State Security -- got itself a WeChat account, it has been churning out cautionary tales about spies as warnings to an unsuspecting public.
The account, set up in July 2023, was quiet at first, only publishing four warnings in all of last year. But it has stepped up activity in recent weeks, cranking out five warnings in January alone under the slogan “National Security is Everyone’s Responsibility.”
Recently, it warned people:
- not to get seduced by “tall, beautiful people”
- not to gossip carelessly when they travel home for Lunar New Year
- be aware that “foreign spies” could be reading their online comments and lurking on social media
“Foreign espionage agencies may actively connect with key target groups by disguising themselves as rich and beautiful, or tall, rich and handsome individuals,” the agency warned in a Jan. 16 post to its official WeChat account.
“Once a relationship is established, they may use the emotional connection to trick their targets into providing confidential information,” it said in a post titled, “Keep your eyes open, and build a Great Wall of Steel against espionage.”
Spooking foreign investors
The insistence that foreign spies are everywhere has spooked foreign investors in the wake of raids of foreign-owned firms and recent changes to national security legislation.
Commentators say the warnings likely have more to do with political turf wars in Beijing and encouraging people to spy on each other than with any concerted public action against a possible threat from overseas.
Officials, scientists and college teachers and students are likely targets for seduction, brainwashing, bribery and coercion, especially anyone with access to confidential information, it said.
Foreign spies may “disguise themselves as considerate, caring and open-minded confidants,” or “lurk in chat rooms, online forums and other online platforms” to recruit people.
Anyone going overseas on vacation has been warned that foreign intelligence agencies “may take the opportunity to infiltrate, and personnel in confidential positions need to be vigilant, not trust strangers, and not disclose work secrets.”
“If there is a language barrier, they should seek interpreting assistance and never answer casually; if the questions involve state secrets, they should ... refuse to answer,” according to a Jan. 25 post to the feared Ministry’s WeChat account.
Cautionary tale
On Friday, the agency published the tale of a man surnamed Han who was lured into selling confidential documents by his desire for a life of “extravagance and luxury.”
“Once the idea of selling secrets came into his mind, it quickly dragged Han towards the abyss of crime like the claws of a demon,” the post said.
Han stored secrets on private hard drives, then contacted foreign agencies anonymously in the hope of selling them.
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When the state security police caught up with Han, he was on his computer bargaining with foreign espionage agencies to sell more confidential information. He collapsed to the ground, saying “I didn’t expect you to be that fast!” according to the post.
The penalty for “espionage” as defined by the authorities can range from five or 10 years to life imprisonment, or even death in cases deemed “particularly serious,” the agency said, adding that Han would be “severely punished.”
‘Not real counter-espionage’
The agency has also warned people against “connecting to unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks” and ordered them to store confidential documents securely, as well as keeping online security defenses up to date
“The Ministry of State Security used to operate as part of the ‘secret front,’” former police station deputy director Guo Min told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. “Now they’re kicking up a big propaganda fuss, but it’s not real counter-espionage or national security.”
“Counter-espionage work doesn’t usually require ordinary people to come forward.”
Chinese authorities have typically employed a highly elastic definition of what constitutes a state secret, and national security charges are frequently leveled at journalists, rights lawyers and activists, often based on material they post online.
Article 14 of China’s Law on Safeguarding State Secrets, which was amended last year, divides state secrets into three categories: top secret; confidential and secret.
Which information falls into which category is left to the authorities to decide, according to Article 15.
The lack of definition makes “endangering state security” an easy crime to pin on anyone sharing information the government doesn’t like, according to critics.
Guo said anyone working in sensitive areas with access to confidential information or state secrets will already have received extensive security training, as he did while a serving police officer.
“What they’re actually doing is mobilizing the general public to keep an eye on each other,” he said.
Political jostling
The move is also highly political, according to some analysts.
A legal professional from the southern province of Guangdong who gave only the surname Mou for fear of reprisals said the spy agency is jostling with its key rival for government funding, the Ministry of Public Security, which presides over China’s police force.
“The Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security have been competing over their remits,” Mou said.
“State security would normally have jurisdiction over cases with a foreign connection, and doesn’t wield as much [domestic] power as public security does,” he said.
“There may be a power struggle going on but there may also be other reasons that we don’t understand.”
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.