The Chinese Communist Party authorities continue to foster a climate of fear around espionage, with the national security department issuing warnings about how seemingly innocuous items like pens, lighters, tissue boxes, and even social networking apps in the workplace can be tools threatening so-called national security. Observers believe that the authorities are aggressively catching spies due to the Party’s insecurity about its regime, and this situation is expected to worsen over time.
The official Weibo account of the Chinese Communist Party’s national security department published an article on August 15 titled “The ‘Little Things’ with Hidden Secrets,” listing various items that could pose threats to the party’s security, such as pens and cameras with hidden cameras that could be used by spy personnel to secretly photograph classified documents. Lighters and tissue boxes with eavesdropping devices installed can also be used for surveillance. Even unmanned drones disguised as dragonflies can be utilized for intelligence gathering.
The article states that these “little things” possess hidden functions such as eavesdropping, taking photos, sensing, and transmitting data, and once these tools are used for espionage activities, they become specialized espionage equipment, thereby jeopardizing the national security of the Chinese Communist Party.
On the 16th, the Chinese Communist Party’s national security department issued another warning, stating that foreign spy intelligence agencies are using workplace social networking apps to engage in recruitment and subversion activities, posing a “threat to national security.”
Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has enacted a series of so-called “laws” purportedly aimed at safeguarding national security, including the National Security Law (2015), Anti-Terrorism Law (2015), Anti-Espionage Law (2014), Cybersecurity Law (2015), Overseas NGOs Management Law (2016), National Intelligence Law (2017), Data Security Law (2021), amended Anti-Espionage Law (2023), and the revised State Secrets Law that came into effect in May 2024, among others. The amended “Regulations on the Enforcement of the State Secrets Law” issued by the State Council of the Chinese Communist Party in June will also take effect from September 1.
Former Beijing lawyer and Chair of the Canada Zhi Gong Party, Lai Jianping, previously told a media outlet that when the Chinese Communist Party fears exposure of its secrets, it will collapse immediately.
Since the new amended Anti-Espionage Law came into effect on July 1 last year, the Chinese Communist Party’s national security department, which has always operated in the shadows, has been actively posting on social media, with state media conducting extensive propaganda campaigns and encouraging citizens to report suspected spies. Some cases of alleged espionage officially disclosed by the authorities have been met with ridicule, indicating that the Communist Party has become overly paranoid, leaving everyone feeling insecure.
Ms. Chang, a former high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official who recently left the country, told a media outlet last month that everyone is experiencing firsthand the Party’s shift towards increased control; even attending overseas events is no longer allowed. Party workers who are supposed to be ordinary have now become informants and eyes that the Party has placed among the people.
Ms. Chang stated that various laws and regulations enacted in the name of national security have indeed created a climate of paranoia. “I used to share photos of my work environment during business trips on social media, but now I dare not do so. I am frequently reminded during meetings not to post photos. Everyone in the office building is on edge, afraid to take pictures or speak freely.”
On July 1, 2023, the Communist Party’s official magazine, “Qiushi,” published a speech by Xi Jinping from the previous year, warning young officials not to be “a person with a disloyal heart, physically in one camp but mentally in another, and having different dreams in the same bed.”
Former lecturer at the Chinese People’s Public Security University and practicing lawyer in the United States, Gao Guangjun, stated in a show on New Tang Dynasty TV that the reason why the Chinese Communist Party is now arresting spies everywhere is due to Xi Jinping’s sense of insecurity regarding himself and the Party’s regime, a situation that is expected to become increasingly severe.
In fact, scandals of high-ranking Communist Party officials engaging in self-serving acts have frequently surfaced. On June 11, 2015, former Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Zhou Yongkang, was sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery, abuse of power, and deliberately leaking state secrets. Ling Jihua, who was the director of the CCP’s General Office and director of the Central Secrecy Commission, was sentenced to life imprisonment on July 4, 2016, for bribery, illegally obtaining state secrets, and abusing power. Ling Jihua was caught in the act of guarding against himself. Former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, Sun Lijun, was accused of “privately storing and disseminating a large amount of classified materials.”
These aforementioned officials were all accused by the authorities of having personal ambitions. Many analysts believe that Xi Jinping’s actions against them are related to coup attempts and assassination plots.
Former Chinese Communist Party Major General Jin Yinan once exposed the situations where several high-profile spies were caught by the Chinese Communist Party, including red second-generation party members, diplomatic envoys, and individuals working for five foreign intelligence agencies simultaneously, some of whom were secretly executed by the Chinese Communist authorities. He bluntly stated, “Why do traitors keep appearing within the Communist Party? This is a nightmare.”