At least 17 Japanese nationals have been detained in China on "spying" allegations since the law first took effect in 2014.Īn employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma was detained in March on suspicion of "spying," prompting a protest from Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi during a visit to Beijing this month. Japan said on Wednesday that it had asked Beijing to clarify exactly which activities constitute espionage, and that it was advising its nationals to be alert regarding the revised law. due diligence firm Mintz, detaining five Chinese nationals in the process. Last month, authorities in Beijing raided the office of U.S. Meanwhile, The Financial Times reported that police took away computers and phones but did not detain any employees, and that they had made more than one visit to the office. said in a written statement sent to Reuters and the Associated Press on April 26. We are cooperating as appropriate with the Chinese authorities,” Bain & Co. “We can confirm that the Chinese authorities have questioned staff in our Shanghai office. management consultancy Bain & Co.'s office in Shanghai and questioned staff there. The move came as police in Shanghai visited U.S. Under the amendment, authorities may now access data and electronic equipment and issue travel bans to individuals. The newly amended law gives no definition of what constitutes a matter of national security or the national interest, but expands the definition of espionage to cover cyberattacks against government departments or critical information infrastructure, Xinhua said. The Chinese authorities have typically employed a highly elastic definition of what constitutes a state secret, and national security charges are frequently leveled at journalists, rights lawyers and activists, often based on material they posted online. There’s also concern that normal business activities like gathering intelligence on local markets, competitors and partners could be treated as "espionage" amid growing tensions between Beijing, the United States and its allies. The raids come amid growing concern that the amended law will give state security police and other investigators new powers to access corporate facilities and electronic equipment. "Documents, data, materials, and items related to national security and the national interest," are now treated as state secrets under the law, state news agency Xinhua reported. The National People's Congress passed amendments to the Counter-Espionage Law on April 26 that broaden the scope of material that can be used to back up allegations of spying. It also enhances supervision over the personnel of national security organs.China's ruling Communist Party has granted itself more powers under an amended espionage law, expanding the definition of what constitutes "spying," amid ongoing raids on U.S. The revised law improves provisions on the protection of national security, and requires efforts to strengthen people's awareness of counter-espionage and national security, said Wang.
It also properly expands the scope of targets of espionage, with all documents, data, materials and articles concerning national security and interests included for protection, Wang said. The revised law refines the definition of espionage, specifying acts such as carrying out cyber attacks against state organs, confidential organs or crucial information infrastructure as acts of espionage, according to Wang. The revised law was passed at a session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, which was held from Monday to Wednesday.Īdopted by lawmakers in November 2014, the current Counter-Espionage Law is a special law that regulates and safeguards the fight against espionage, which plays an important role in safeguarding national security, said Wang Aili with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee. BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) - Chinese lawmakers on Wednesday voted to adopt a revised Counter-Espionage Law, which will take effect on July 1, 2023.
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