By Matt Young and AFP
Chinese Government issued video shows citizens how they can catch spies
IN A sign of rising paranoia, city officials in China have urged the public to “slowly construct an iron Great Wall in combating evil and guarding against spies”.
Budding Chinese sleuths could start stalking foreigners as suspected spies in Beijing after authorities offered huge cash bonanzas for information on overseas agents, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.
It comes as the Beijing National Security Bureau posted an animated “how-to” video on how to spot a spy and what to do should you see one in action.
“Steal state secrets with me and make a fortune by selling them abroad!” a bearded foreigner with a robber’s mask tells a little boy.
“Uncle policeman, he’s the one!” the boy tells an officer.
The boy receives a lollipop from the policeman, but the video says whistleblowers will receive much more than just a sweet.
The video finished with a line that nice guys don’t have to finish last.
“Foreign intelligence organs and other hostile forces have also seized the opportunity to sabotage our country through political infiltration, division and subversion, stealing secrets and collusion,” the Beijing Daily newspaper reported.
“There are some people out of personal interests, selling national interests, to foreign intelligence agencies to take advantage of intelligence.”
Members of the public can report suspected espionage through a special hotline, by mail or in person and will be rewarded with up to 500,000 yuan ($72,460) in compensation if their intelligence is deemed useful.
Beijing “is the first choice among foreign spy agencies and others who are fiercely carrying out infiltration, subversion, division, destruction and theft,” according to authorities.
The average annual wage in Beijing in 2015 was 85,000 yuan ($12,300), according to the most recent data available from the city government.
Some Chinese have joked on social media that they would only have to catch two spies a year over a five-year period to buy a house.
“There are some people out of personal interests, selling national interests, to foreign intelligence agencies to take advantage of intelligence.”
Members of the public can report suspected espionage through a special hotline, by mail or in person and will be rewarded with up to 500,000 yuan ($72,460) in compensation if their intelligence is deemed useful.
Beijing “is the first choice among foreign spy agencies and others who are fiercely carrying out infiltration, subversion, division, destruction and theft,” according to authorities.
The average annual wage in Beijing in 2015 was 85,000 yuan ($12,300), according to the most recent data available from the city government.
Some Chinese have joked on social media that they would only have to catch two spies a year over a five-year period to buy a house.
Others, sceptical of the campaign, said, “We should clean up corrupt officials first”.
“Citizens play an important role in spy investigations,” said a statement from the city’s security bureau, in the latest sign of concern about foreign agents in the capital.
The new incentives for whistleblowers will be implemented ahead of China’s second annual National Security Education Day on April 15.
Sources can choose to remain anonymous and request police protection for themselves and their relatives.
Those who deliberately provide false information will be punished, the security bureau said.
The Beijing Morning Post wrote on Monday that the “extensive mobilisation of the masses” will contribute to the construction of an “anti-spy steel Great Wall.”
But one expert claims the campaign could indiscriminately target foreigners.
“Citizens play an important role in spy investigations,” said a statement from the city’s security bureau, in the latest sign of concern about foreign agents in the capital.
The new incentives for whistleblowers will be implemented ahead of China’s second annual National Security Education Day on April 15.
Sources can choose to remain anonymous and request police protection for themselves and their relatives.
Those who deliberately provide false information will be punished, the security bureau said.
The Beijing Morning Post wrote on Monday that the “extensive mobilisation of the masses” will contribute to the construction of an “anti-spy steel Great Wall.”
But one expert claims the campaign could indiscriminately target foreigners.
Li Fan, founder of the private think tank World and China Institute told the Washington Post, “if you take a photo on the street, somebody will report you as a hostile foreign spy. People will be more cautious to talk to foreign media.”
Cartoon posters began appearing in Beijing public offices last year warning Chinese women against falling for the romantic wiles of foreign men with undercover motives.
A 16-panel poster titled Dangerous Love showed a blossoming relationship between a Chinese government worker named Xiao Li and a visiting scholar, “David”.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t4bo_MimR6F3Mqhx_eMCdIJFSbEfQMyQyP6d-YVezFg_T82g4i4dUsuMYtdwqD37_B63XstW3wY6D18ZiK2SmQMxISH74bzTsSlC-cJWW2rkQvYIj6ABcZLebx2d8pGgK96NRu3Qc=s0-d)
A poster warning against foreign spies is displayed in an alleyway in Beijing, China, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tT8VOHkF7npDNzusyTGTCA6I9O6_5RlANPgCcBejc-V6xbeso_-Pvmhwf7O5oWWql67nIuCA_5pDHqW-O-uYuZY4d_x-X50INwB8k9UaeJrky94t3uIXegsmVsue2HpIB9pBY53g=s0-d)
Friend: A foreign friend has organised a gathering tonight ... You’re always trying to increase your foreign language level, why don’t you go with me? Xiao Li: OK.
Cartoon posters began appearing in Beijing public offices last year warning Chinese women against falling for the romantic wiles of foreign men with undercover motives.
A 16-panel poster titled Dangerous Love showed a blossoming relationship between a Chinese government worker named Xiao Li and a visiting scholar, “David”.
A poster warning against foreign spies is displayed in an alleyway in Beijing, China, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.
Friend: A foreign friend has organised a gathering tonight ... You’re always trying to increase your foreign language level, why don’t you go with me? Xiao Li: OK.
Their thwarted happy ending takes the form of a visit to the police station when the pair is arrested after Xiao Li gives David secret internal documents from her government workplace.
The newspaper reported that a fisherman in eastern Jiangsu province received a “heavy” reward after notifying the authorities of a suspicious device in the water bearing a “foreign language.”
The device was being used to collect data for a foreign party, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
The Chinese government often declares threats from “hostile foreign forces” as a justification for censorship and crackdowns on civil society.
Peter Dahlin, a Swedish human rights activist operating out of Beijing, was detained for 23 days and then expelled from the country in January 2016 for allegedly posing a threat to national security.
Mr Dahlin’s group offered training to lawyers who have tried to use the tightly-controlled judiciary to redress apparent government abuses.
The most recent national census, held in 2010, recorded 600,000 expats living in China.
Since taking office in 2013, Xi Jinping has overseen a raft of laws and campaigns to secure China’s "national security" against both domestic and foreign threats, Reuters reports.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vcgc99GCap0ORbArb5oLtNyoc5uPxYl6c2aXK2N4KExdmmCH29wUtYKvjUFN3jEr5rlag9cw5-Cxwga_Qc5rtm791Gk9Oteyt5trJkwJrld2inAtbDqgz9qs37EkoBDGUpb8IRYw=s0-d)
David: Great! Lend me those internal references so I can take a look. This will really help me write academic articles. Xiao Li: I can’t, we have a confidentiality system.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sL-etrAyFGMRX0zKzwIHSFnypO5wekyq9_S2LCUWRHVEumFD1N4l4NBqD3bfIpHTEcOqW4cMhXTiDqwTMLA9qRWddxO1BH7yNDi8h0OAF7AfA1Z2yRe50SfjGshBC4jQgfK78RU-E=s0-d)
Xiao Li: “I didn’t know he was a spy; he used me! Officer: You show a very shallow understanding of secrecy for a State employee. You are suspected of violating our nation’s law.
The Chinese government often declares threats from “hostile foreign forces” as a justification for censorship and crackdowns on civil society.
Peter Dahlin, a Swedish human rights activist operating out of Beijing, was detained for 23 days and then expelled from the country in January 2016 for allegedly posing a threat to national security.
Mr Dahlin’s group offered training to lawyers who have tried to use the tightly-controlled judiciary to redress apparent government abuses.
The most recent national census, held in 2010, recorded 600,000 expats living in China.
Since taking office in 2013, Xi Jinping has overseen a raft of laws and campaigns to secure China’s "national security" against both domestic and foreign threats, Reuters reports.
David: Great! Lend me those internal references so I can take a look. This will really help me write academic articles. Xiao Li: I can’t, we have a confidentiality system.
Xiao Li: “I didn’t know he was a spy; he used me! Officer: You show a very shallow understanding of secrecy for a State employee. You are suspected of violating our nation’s law.
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