Xi has prioritized security during his tenure.
(Photo: AP)
Beijing China has significantly expanded its anti-espionage law. The change is intended to protect not only state secrets, but also vaguely defined “national interests,” according to the text published on Thursday. Cyber attacks are also included as espionage. The Standing Committee of the People’s Congress passed the amendment to the law that will come into effect on July 1 the previous evening in Beijing.
In the future, protection against espionage will also apply to “all documents, data, materials and articles affecting national security and interests,” as quoted by the official Xinhua news agency, Wang Aili from the Legal Committee of the Standing Committee. He spoke of a “moderate expansion” in the scope of espionage targets. However, the law does not provide a more detailed definition.
Critics of the regime saw a deliberate ambiguity that could also be used arbitrarily against those who thought differently. The possible effects on foreign companies operating in China or their handling of data and information were initially unclear.
During his tenure, head of state and party leader Xi Jinping gave special priority to internal and external security. He seals off the country more from the outside world and emphasizes independence. In the growing tensions with the USA, China accuses the superpower of wanting to prevent its rise in the world. Both countries are increasingly accusing each other of cyber attacks and espionage.
More foreigners have recently been arrested in China on allegations of espionage – most recently in March an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astella. Espionage trials, like national security cases, are usually heard by the courts behind closed doors. Critics had previously complained that state secrets in China were also unclearly defined and the term was interpreted arbitrarily.
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