- China created a site for people to report issues of national security, in particular matters regarding foreign spies.
- The site, 12339.gov.cn, has been translated into English indicating Beijing's desire to receive international tips.
- China's Communist Party has tried to influence the Chinese diaspora in the past, to exert control both abroad and at home.
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China wants to catch foreign spies with an English spy catcher site
Tipsters will be rewarded. Beijing rarely translates its reporting sites into English, indicating the Communist Party's desire to target the Chinese diaspora.
China's Ministry of State Security recently launched a "whistleblowing" website to collect tips on foreign spies.
The site, 1
In a country where the government considers ethnic minorities, online commenters, and even group-chat users a potential political threat, the list of reportable activities indicates human-rights workers, journalists, and well-meaning locals and foreigners could easily be spotlighted.
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What has also gained attention is the site's English version.
"The Chinese Communist party is seeking to suppress dissent among its diaspora in countries around the world," Rory Medcalf, head of the national security college at Australian National University, told Foreign Policy last year.
Most recently, Beijing tried to control Tibetan exiles in Sweden by hiring a spy in the local refugee community who reported on refugees' addresses, family members, travels, and political meetings.
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