New law expands the definition of spying amid a renewed crackdown on journalism and growing pressure on foreign businesses
Lawmakers in Beijing have approved a wide-ranging update to China’s anti-espionage law, expanding the definition of what is considered spying and banning the transfer of information related to national security.
This week, the family of Chinese journalist Dong Yuyu revealed he had been imprisoned since February last year, after meeting with a Japanese diplomat who was also briefly detained and interrogated before being released. Mr. Dong’s family had kept the prosecution secret but were recently told he was being charged with espionage and could face decades in prison.
The changes to the espionage law could make such exchanges even more fraught, and may hasten efforts underway by many foreign companies to decouple from China. All “documents, data, materials, and items related to national security and interests” are now classified as akin to state secrets, but the law does not define what it means by “national security,” raising the risk people could be prosecuted for discussing or sharing information on China’s economy and political system.
The nakedly political nature of their prosecution alarmed many foreigners in China, who had previously felt safe despite an increasingly repressive atmosphere under Mr. Xi. For many, the “Two Michaels” case raised fears a spat between their home government and Beijing could now put them at risk.
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