China to give $15k for info on breach of national security
Beijing: Chinese citizens can get cash rewards of over 100,000 yuan ($15,000) if they tip-off the police on national security breaches, the government has announced, as it moves against what it describes as “intensifying threats” from foreign i
Under the new set of rules, which state media reports said standardised existing ones, the whistle-blower will be awarded at least 10,000 yuan and more than 100,000 yuan depending on the seriousness of the reported breach.
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On offer for citizens are “spiritual rewards”, in the form of certificates, and “material rewards”, in the form of cash.
“Those who have played a major role and made major contributions to preventing, suppressing and punishing acts that seriously endanger national security will be rewarded between 30,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan,” the rules said.
Chinese citizens living abroad can also claim the reward if they report correctly on compatriots who are acting against China’s interest, the rules added.
In the release, China’s top security authorities, led by the state security ministry, specified and clarified the conditions, methods, standards and procedures for rewarding citizens in accordance with the National Security Law, the Anti-Espionage Law, and other laws and regulations, according to a report in the state-run tabloid, Global Times.
“The formulation of the measures is conducive to fully mobilising the enthusiasm of the general public to support and assist in national security work, widely rallying the hearts, morale, wisdom and strength of the people,” the security ministry representative said, according to the state-run Legal Daily.
The new rules said a version of a “witness protection programme” could be implemented in case the personal safety of the informants and their families was at stake because of the reporting of acts endangering national security.
China has a precedent of offering rewards to citizens for exposing alleged foreign spies or other security violations.
In 2017, for example, the Beijing municipal bureau for state security offered up to 500,000 yuan (about $72,365) for information on suspected foreign spies.
The “pressing” need for new measures to guard against foreign spies is an unfortunate side effect of China’s reform and opening up to the world, the official Beijing Daily newspaper reported then.
China is already among the most surveilled countries in the world, and this latest move by its internal security ministry further institutionalises – with the lure of money – its citizens potentially keeping tabs on each other.
In 2016, China had marked its annual “national security education day” – which falls on April 15 — by widely releasing a poster that warned female government workers about dating foreigners who could be spies.
