Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Beijing’s paranoia have reached a new high, as the CCP’s intelligence apparatus has launched a social media propaganda campaign mobilizing the entire nation to combat the so-called foreign spy threat.
On April 15, the National Security Education Day, the Ministry of National Defense released a video produced by the intelligence agency National Security Bureau, titled “Making Spies ‘Nowhere to Hide,'” which stated, “In the sea of people, you may have never noticed them. Their identities are ever-changing, with countless disguises, even willing to change gender…” This video represents the latest manifestation of Xi Jinping’s increasingly paranoid regime.
In this video, an Asian man disguised himself in various roles while carrying out spy missions – a plumber, a chef, a driver. Posing as a photographer, he took photos of women near restricted areas; dressed in lab attire, he mingled with research personnel in the lab to obtain secrets; disguised as a businessman, he infiltrated meetings, copied data onto a flash drive, and uploaded it to undisclosed foreign entities. A real James Bond moment arose when a waiter slipped him a note hidden in lunch, which he read and swallowed before being thwarted by a CCP security raid.
After the spy’s arrest, the video plays in reverse, revealing the surveillance by national security on his crafty identity switches and intelligence gathering. This video serves as both CCP propaganda, praising defenders of the party and state, and a warning to citizens: the CCP is constantly monitoring, no matter how clever they may think they are, they will be caught. The reversal indicates not only spies being surveilled but almost everyone encountered is a CCP counterintelligence agent.
The National Intelligence Law requires citizens and businesses to assist in intelligence collection for the CCP. The video’s narrative aligns with this ideology, emphasizing that although spies mingle among the Chinese populace, “with 1.4 billion of us, we can build 1.4 billion lines of defense!… Safeguarding national security, for everyone, by everyone!” This places the duty on every citizen to uphold national security and encourages them to report any suspicious activities by foreigners and nationals.
The CCP has numerous civilian and military intelligence agencies. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission states that military intelligence agencies fall under the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), tasked with “collecting foreign military, economic, and political intelligence to support military operations.”
Until recently, the PLA Strategic Support Force was the primary military organization responsible for signal intelligence, cyber warfare, and other technical warfare tasks. However, on April 19, 2024, the Strategic Support Force was dissolved and replaced by three independent branches: Military Space Force, Cyber Space Force, and Information Support Force (ISF), with the ISF becoming the dominant entity, favored by Xi Jinping, and designated as a new strategic military branch of the PLA.
The primary non-military intelligence agency of the CCP is the Ministry of State Security, responsible for foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, human intelligence, and domestic security work. As a government department, the Ministry of State Security is overseen by the State Council and the Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the Ministry of State Security plays a more crucial role in domestic counterintelligence work.
Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the Counter-Espionage Law expanded its scope last year, broadening the range of prohibited activities to cover daily commercial activities such as market research, auditing, due diligence, business consulting, or inquiries on sensitive topics.
With enhanced security measures, the Ministry of State Security is engaging with the public, reminding them that they are under surveillance and to monitor each other. The Ministry of State Security has social media accounts and posts posters and notices in public places across towns nationwide.
Previous anti-spy propaganda featured a comic titled “Dangerous Love,” depicting a Chinese girl unknowingly leaking state secrets to her foreign boyfriend David. However, the Ministry of State Security has stepped up its efforts, publishing comic-style graphic novels, and an internet TV series called “God’s Hidden Detective Team,” adapted from so-called real spy cases.
The CCP nationalist tabloid Global Times published an article praising a video released by the Ministry of State Security, highlighting that citizens can report behaviors threatening national security, “establishing a strong national security people’s line of defense.” The article emphasized that in 2023, the Ministry of State Security received numerous citizen reports, preventing spy activities, and in some cases, individuals were arrested and prosecuted. Around 85 citizens were recognized and rewarded for their contributions to national security.
According to the CCP, spies are everywhere, penetrating various sectors, and the only way for the nation to survive is for all citizens to unite and resist “external forces.” To some extent, the nation’s paranoia is somewhat comical, particularly the CCP’s response, including producing videos and comics to safeguard national security. However, with nuclear weapons and claiming to be the world’s third most powerful military force, the CCP desires to rival the U.S. and become a global hegemon. This pervasive paranoia significantly influences government decisions, highlighting its importance. Additionally, individuals engaging in commercial activities in China must be aware that the risk of arrest and charges for engaging in espionage activities has reached unprecedented levels.
[The original author’s details have been omitted for brevity and privacy reasons.]