China’s human rights situation continues to deteriorate, as the Chinese Communist authorities recently released a draft of the “Network Crime Prevention and Control Law”, which escalates the blocking of access to overseas information and includes provisions for cross-border suppression. Observers have noted that China’s internet governance is transitioning from the administration led by the Cyberspace Administration of China to a model led by the Ministry of Public Security. Human rights lawyers in China criticize this as an inhumane law and call for attention from all sectors.
On January 31, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security of the CCP issued the draft law on “Network Crime Prevention and Control”, not only targeting Chinese citizens domestically, but also emphasizing the blockade of free information originating from overseas. It explicitly prohibits individuals and organizations from providing any assistance to others in obtaining technical support for blocked overseas information (such as VPN tools).
The regulation emphasizes real-name registration for internet services, prohibits registering with false identity information, requires reporting when switching location services on virtual networks, and imposes penalties for disseminating information not approved by the authorities. Individuals violating these rules may face fines of up to 500,000 yuan and detention for 15 days, while organizations involved may face fines of up to 5 million yuan and revocation of licenses.
For years, the Chinese Communist Party has built a national firewall (GFW) to block and censor the internet, turning China into a local area network disconnected from the international network. A research report last year found that China has developed a regional internet censorship system, even stricter than the GFW, known as the “wall within the wall.”
Moreover, in recent years, the Chinese authorities have implemented strict laws such as the “Cybersecurity Law” and “Cybersecurity Inspection Measures”, constantly revising and upgrading them.
Yang Tian, a lawyer from mainland China, expressed to Epoch Times that the so-called “Network Crime Prevention and Control Law” proposed by the CCP shifts from post-punishment to complete pre-punishment. This has a greater impact on ordinary Chinese internet users, indicating a flagrant violation of human rights, using the guise of law to strip people of their rights. This reflects the CCP’s reliance on a control model based on violence and lies, which they deem insufficient.
Yang Tian stated that in the past decade or so since Xi Jinping came to power, China has rapidly regressed politically and culturally back to the era of Mao Zedong. However, the CCP elites cannot return to the economic governance of the Mao era, so internet control has become a top priority. Unable to physically prevent all citizens from leaving the country and completely cutting off the internet, the CCP seeks to control all possible blind spots.
“There are now these so-called blind spots that make them panic, make them feel seriously insecure, so they want to control all the parts that are possibly out of their control,” he said.
Yang Tian pointed out that for mainland China, it is now on the brink of total North Koreanization. The CCP regime is not only a threat to the Chinese people but also to all humanity. The international community needs to increase its attention and concrete support for the progress of Chinese civilization.
Former Beijing lawyer and independent scholar Lai Jianping, in an interview with Epoch Times, pointed out that the CCP’s introduction of this malicious law aims to further isolate China from the world, turning China into a “giant North Korea.” Previously, there were still some channels connecting many people with the outside world through VPNs. Once the new regulations are implemented, this connection will be severely restricted. Secondly, the CCP aims to “hunt down” any anti-Communist forces globally and intimidate overseas individuals with properties, savings, and businesses in China.
Lai Jianping stated that the world will witness the madness of the CCP regime, causing unease even in normal governments, who will protect their citizens and seek countermeasures against the CCP. For example, Canada’s so-called police cooperation with the CCP may face domestic backlash, and the Canadian government may consider changing its so-called cooperative relations with the CCP.
“Chinese Human Rights” posted a list of the most absurd aspects of the draft of the Network Crime Prevention and Control Law proposed by the CCP, including the global definition and jurisdiction, breaking through the territorial limitations of judicial jurisdiction. It weaponizes so-called “false information” as a cross-border sanction, directly “harvests” overseas assets, and turns the right to leave the country into an administrative privilege that can be arbitrarily deprived of after the end of the sentence. It thoroughly cuts off technical pathways to “climb the wall.”
The article highlighted that the release of this Network Crime Prevention and Control Law signals a shift in China’s internet governance model from administrative management led by the Cyberspace Administration to a “police-led” model led by the Ministry of Public Security. The tentacles of state power are no longer confined to domestic matters but aim to construct a global surveillance system that is highly defensive internally and has long-arm jurisdiction externally.
“Chinese Human Rights” urges all sectors to be vigilant against this absurd legislative attempt: it is attempting to use the law to push the erosion of internet freedom for Chinese citizens to the extreme and legalize digital authoritarianism.