My husband was also dragged into the water, and the female engineer worked as a spy for 17 years. | Spy | Husband

The newly revised Anti Spy Law will come into effect on July 1st, and one of its highlights is the further enrichment and refinement of espionage behavior. So according to the new law, which behaviors will be recognized as espionage? Which groups of people are easily targeted by spies for counterattacks? What should ordinary people do when they discover espionage?

1

Men tempted by high remuneration

Provide intelligence to foreign spy agencies

Zhang, who used to work as a foreign language translator in a certain department, met A and others who claimed to be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country while stationed abroad. The real identities of A and others are members of the country's spy and intelligence agency. After getting to know Zhang, they used high remuneration as a temptation and demanded intelligence from him through methods such as extortion and demand.

Despite knowing the other party's intentions, Zhang still disregarded the law and discipline, and over the years provided dozens of confidential documents and materials related to China's domestic and foreign affairs, including 14 top secret and classified documents.

In 2008, before Zhang resigned, he illegally carried files and information collected from his company's office computer and internal office network abroad, which contained a large amount of top secret and confidential information.

In 2016, national security agencies cracked this case.

Zhang's behavior is a typical spy behavior.

The new Anti Espionage Law, which came into effect on July 1st, consists of six chapters and 71 articles. In Chapter 1, the General Provisions stipulate six types of espionage behavior, clarifying the subjects, behaviors, and objects of different types of espionage behavior.

Vice Dean of the Law School of Renmin University of China, Wang Xu:

The first type refers to spy organizations and their agents who directly attack, steal intelligence related to national security, or disrupt security order.

The second type is to persuade members of confidential units or national public officials to join through means such as bribery.

In the second category of espionage activities stipulated in the new Anti Espionage Law, on the basis of the old law "participating in espionage organizations or accepting tasks from espionage organizations and their agents", "joining espionage organizations and their agents" has been added, and behaviors that actively endanger national security have been included in the law.

Vice Dean of the Law School of Renmin University of China, Wang Xu:

The social harm and subjective malice of joining are stronger, and he has lost loyalty to a sovereign country.

2

Men take part-time city landscape photos

Photos of warships involved in ports

How to handle minor illegal acts involving espionage, and how to reduce punishment in cases of self surrender, meritorious service, etc., the newly revised Anti Espionage Law has also been stipulated.

In April 2020, Zhao, who was working in Dalian, Liaoning, found a part-time job to help planning designer Ye take photos of urban scenery. On the first day of work, under the remote control command of Ye, Zhao went to the port and shipyard in Dalian to take photos and record the geographical environment along the way, and sent them to Ye via mobile phone. On that day, Zhao received a transfer of 200 yuan.

Taking photos can earn money, and Zhao thought he had a good job. He continued to take photos according to Ye's requirements and received compensation. And the tasks assigned by Ye continued to increase, requiring Zhao to take photos of warships moored in the port for maintenance, and even encouraging Zhao to find opportunities to work in the shipyard and receive more compensation every month.

However, after seeing the news media's promotion of national security, Zhao became alert. "I feel that these cases are very similar to what I did, and I deeply regret it. I feel like I shouldn't have done this."

So, accompanied by his family, Zhao voluntarily surrendered to the national security organs. Considering that Zhao voluntarily surrendered and has not yet caused substantial harm to China's national security, the national security organs have exempted him from punishment in accordance with the law.

The newly revised Anti Espionage Law retains the provision that "those who commit espionage activities and surrender or perform meritorious deeds may be given lighter, mitigated, or exempted punishment; those who perform significant meritorious deeds shall be rewarded." It further refines the content of legal liability investigation and expands the application of administrative penalties.

3

A woman pulls her husband to sell intelligence

Public officials and couples become spies

Which groups of people are easily targeted by spies for counterattacks? What methods are commonly used by foreign spy agencies to counter these groups of people?

Huang is a spy who has been hiding for 17 years. Before being arrested, she was an engineer in a provincial government agency in Yunnan Province. In 2002, while studying abroad for a master's degree, Huang met a seemingly elegant and refined man. Although Huang had already started a family at the time, she still had an improper relationship with the man. In communication, the other party makes some requests in a timely manner. "He said he works in information consulting, and if information is provided to him, he can pay a certain amount of compensation," Huang said.

Under the persuasion of overseas men, Huang took advantage of the opportunity to return to China to visit relatives and collected some domestic confidential documents and provided them to the other party. In the relationship, the man learned that Huang's husband was serving as the deputy county magistrate in a certain county in Yunnan. The other party took the opportunity to ask Huang for her husband Li's help in collecting some government internal documents.

Within 17 years, Huang and Li, in accordance with the requirements for overseas launch, privately brought back confidential documents they came into contact with during work. Li is responsible for taking photos of confidential documents, while Huang is responsible for disguising and encrypting the photos, copying them into a USB drive, waiting for an opportunity to leave the country, and secretly handing them over to foreign spies.

In April 2019, Huang and Li were charged by national security agencies with suspected espionage and taken compulsory measures in accordance with the law.

It is not difficult to find that the main targets of overseas espionage agencies are personnel from party and government agencies, military and industrial enterprises, national defense research institutes, and other departments. In order to obtain intelligence, foreign espionage and intelligence agencies have various means, including consultation, emotional attraction, seduction, financial temptation, and even control of coercion. However, those with weak personalities and a desire for luxury and pleasure often cannot withstand the temptation and become controlled objects.

According to the newly revised Anti Espionage Law, individuals and organizations who report espionage behavior or make significant contributions in anti espionage work shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant national regulations. Citizens and organizations who discover suspicious situations that endanger national security should promptly call the reporting hotline 12339 of the national security organs for reporting.