One year after the Chinese Communist Party amended the “Anti-Spy Law,” there have been reports of a chilling atmosphere created by the authorities. It is said that at social gatherings in mainland China, people dare not laugh at political jokes. However, there have been instances where individuals managed to criticize the Communist Party leader in various ways during dinner parties.
According to a report by the Central News Agency on May 26th, in late April, two residents in Pudong, Shanghai, shared their experiences of buying apartments with a journalist outside a building. It was reported that a property development project that was almost abandoned saw signs of revival.
However, as the conversation was about to end, one of them mentioned “national security” and advised caution in discussing certain topics. Another woman participating in the chat agreed, stating that there are indeed many “spies” nowadays, as she had seen numerous reports in the news. The journalist suspected that his Taiwanese identity had inadvertently raised concerns about national security during the conversation.
When asked what kind of national secrets ordinary people could access, the woman replied, “Haven’t you heard? Some people just take a bribe and show the blueprints (engineering drawings) to others…”
It is reported that more and more people are becoming cautious due to concerns about violating the “Anti-Spy Law.” A longtime acquaintance from Shanghai warned that one must be more careful now and “reporting a spy can fetch you 500,000 RMB.” According to this acquaintance, during a dinner gathering with young colleagues from his company, he told a political joke but nobody laughed, and the atmosphere was quite tense.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party passed the amended “Anti-Spy Law” on April 26th last year, which took effect on July 1st of the same year. In addition to amending the “Anti-Spy Law,” the revised “National Security Law” came into effect in China on May 1st this year. Furthermore, in late April, the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of State Security released two enforcement regulations, granting expanded powers to national security personnel to investigate people’s electronic devices at will.
However, despite the oppressive environment created by the authorities, recent reports have also revealed that people from Communist Party gatherings to ordinary citizens have found ways to criticize Party leader Xi Jinping.
An article by Taiwanese media “Up Media” published on January 25th revealed that both in Communist Party gatherings and among the public, people privately criticize “that pig” or “that person” (referring to Xi). A retired Communist Party senior cadre stated, “When that person (Xi) first came to power, people had some hope for him, but now nobody says he is good, everyone criticizes him, and people are hoping for the Communist Party to collapse!”
On January 27th, Chinese-American scholar Li Hengqing told Epoch Times that he had heard about these dinner party jokes. He believes this reflects a significant change in public sentiment and official attitudes in China.
On May 25th, an individual familiar with the situation in the military on the mainland, going by the pseudonym Tianming, disclosed to Epoch Times that there seems to be a considerable dissatisfaction with Xi within the military. “These days, there is a saying circulating in the troops in Hebei that ‘flood the South China Sea and beat Xi Jinping.'”
Commentator Wei Pu previously stated that Xi Jinping removed more than twenty National People’s Congress representatives, nearly half of whom were military personnel, indicating signs of widespread dissatisfaction with Xi within the military.