China has tightened its grip over its dissenting citizens by rewarding those who report their behaviour to the security agency giving rise to online policing.
Ministry of State Security on Tuesday published “Rules to Reward Citizens Reporting Behavior that Threatens National Security”.
As per it, anyone who reports a clear target or verifiable lead for actions not already known to the state and considered damaging to national security will be eligible for a reward once it is confirmed by investigators, local media reported.
This effectively turns every Chinese (loyal to the Chinese Communist Party) and in need of some money, into the eyes of the online police.
There are examples of such measures being implemented on a local level. The official Weibo account of Putian city (Fujian province) online police patrol and enforcement posted that a student of Putian University was surfing the internet.
He found that someone was engaging in activities endangering national security and spreading reactionary remarks on the internet. He immediately called 12339 (hotline of the National Security Bureau) to report it.
Putian City National Security Bureau successfully stopped this incident from endangering national security and punished the accused accordingly.
On July 8, Putian National Security Bureau and Putian school jointly held an award ceremony to commend the student and reward him with 10000 yuan.
Putian State Security Bureau officials said that any organization or individual who finds information and clues endangering national security can call 12339 to report to the state organs.
If the information and clues reported are verified to be true, then the informant will be rewarded according to their importance, and the informant will be kept strictly confidential, reported the local media.
These measures are meant to strengthen national security ahead of the 20th party congress, where President Xi Jinping is expected to win a rare third term in power.
The Communist Party has put a priority on ensuring stability in 2022 ahead of the most important event on China’s political calendar. Yet disruptions have been rife as virus outbreaks prompted the government to lock down cities, hurting economic growth and rattling markets around the world.