#CHINA COUNTER ESPIONAGE LAW SERIES#
“Researchers definitely need to be careful.”Ĭhina says its laws related to national security and espionage are meant to safeguard the country.Ĭoncerns about application of the law have been compounded by a series of arrests of foreign nationals on espionage charges in recent years.įoreign governments have described the cases as being politically motivated and accused Beijing of violating due process, such as denying access to counsel and holding close-door trials. “Something like a local government budget you could broadly define as relating to national security, or even food security,” he said. “Before (some activities) used to be normal engagement, but now they could be espionage,” said Alfred Wu, an associate professor in Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore. The lack of clarity around what kind of documents, data or materials could be considered relevant to national security will pose major legal risks to academics and businesses trying to gain a better understanding of China.Īccording to analysts, topics such as the origin of Covid, China’s real pandemic death toll, and authentic data on the Chinese economy could all fall within the crosshairs of the law. “This will definitely cause a chilling effect,” he said. The new language in the amendment suggests “any organization and anyone can be suspect … and anything can be counted as a threat to national security” in the arbitrary application of the law, Matsuda said. The revision is likely to heighten concerns of foreign individuals, such as academic researchers or journalists, and businesses about visiting or operating in China. “China is opening up, and that makes it much more vulnerable” in the eyes of Chinese leaders, Matsuda said. The broadened counter-espionage law comes just months after China lifted its pandemic-era border restrictions following three years of self-imposed Covid isolation – measures which had kept most foreign businesspeople and researchers away.
“But China thinks it’s not enough,” he said.
The original version of the law, passed in 2014, was already “very ambiguous and very powerful,” said Yasuhiro Matsuda, an international relations professor at the University of Tokyo.
#CHINA COUNTER ESPIONAGE LAW CRACK#
Xi has overseen a raft of new measures to crack down on perceived threats within and outside China and sought to control the flow of information outside the country during his 10 years in power. The amendment, approved by China’s top legislative body Wednesday, comes amid an increasing emphasis on national security under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the country’s most assertive leader in a generation. The changes expand the definition of espionage from covering state secrets and intelligence to any “documents, data, materials or items related to national security and interests,” without specifying specific parameters for how these terms are defined.Ĭyber attacks targeting China’s key information infrastructure in connection with spy agencies are also categorized as espionage under the new version of the law, which goes into effect on July 1. China has broadened the scope of its already sweeping counter-espionage law in a move that analysts warn could create further legal risks or uncertainty for foreign companies, journalists and academics.
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