- China implemented new regulations on Monday under its toughened counterespionage law, which enables authorities to inspect smartphones, personal computers and other electronic devices, raising fears among expatriates and foreign businesspeople about possible arbitrary enforcement.
- A Japanese travel agency official said the new regulations could further prevent tourists from coming to China. Some Japanese companies have told their employees not to bring smartphones from Japan when they make business trips to the neighboring country, according to officials from the companies.
The new rules, which came into effect one year after the revised anti-espionage law expanded the definition of espionage activities, empower Chinese national security authorities to inspect data, including emails, pictures, and videos stored on electronic devices.
Such inspections can be conducted without warrants in emergencies. If officers are unable to examine electronic devices on-site, they are authorized to have those items brought to designated places, according to the regulations.
It remains unclear what qualifies as emergencies under the new rules. Foreign individuals and businesses are now expected to face increased surveillance by Chinese authorities as a result of these regulations.
A 33-year-old British teacher told Kyodo News at a Beijing airport Monday that she refrains from using smartphones for communications. A Japanese man in his 40s who visited the Chinese capital for a business trip said he will “try to avoid attracting attention” from security authorities in the country.
In June, China’s State Security Ministry said the new regulations will target “individuals and organizations related to spy groups,” and ordinary passengers will not have their smartphones inspected at airports. However, a diplomatic source in Beijing noted that authorities’ explanations have not sufficiently clarified what qualifies as spying activities.
Last week, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council upgraded its travel warning for mainland China, advising against unnecessary trips due to Beijing’s recent tightening of regulations aimed at safeguarding national security.
In May, China implemented a revised law on safeguarding state secrets, which includes measures to enhance the management of secrets at military facilities.
Fun fact. If you come to Australia the border force can basically do the same thing. Take a burner with you when you travel, it’s not worth the hassle at the airport. Bonus points, if you lose your phone or get it stolen it won’t hurt as much as if it happened to your main device.
Yeah, but Australia isn’t going to detain you for posting a picture of Winnie the Poo on your social media.
Nah, but if you’re planning a climate protest or are about to whistleblow some warcrimes/corruption you’re absolutely fucked.
Doesn’t matter when occurred in the past. You can be target if you have posted or done something that CCP didn’t approve of. What’s happening in Hong Kong with the “national security law”.
First, obviously this is not good. Secondly, if anyone is complaining about this from the USA, you don’t get to. CBP has the right to inspect your electronics with no questions asked by you. They have a right to make a copy of all data. They have a right to seize your electronics and decrypt them if you fail to provide the encryption pin. They have the right to compel you to unlock and decrypt your devices if it uses fingerprint or facial unlock. They have the right to revoke your residency status if you aren’t a citizen.
CBP has authority to do this at any sea, land, or air crossing. It also has the authority to do this within 100 miles of any border. That means about 70% of all Americans live their day to day lives within the scope of the exact same legislation. And yes it is used, all the time. If you think it isn’t, you’re just ignorant.
if anyone is complaining about this from the USA
Not one single comment on this post has said anything about how America does not have this issue, or America at all for that matter. In fact, the only comments that are about a country other than china (you know… the country the fucking article is about) mentions how Australia’s border/customs do the same thing.
Do you realize we are allowed to discuss and criticize things around the world whether or not America is guilty of something similar right? Is it really necessary to immediately without any prompting regurgitate an ‘AMERICA DOES IT TOO!!!’ comment on any article with negative sentiment regarding a non-American power?
Yes it is very important to say America does it too. Because most Americans have no idea.
This post is about China’s policies not whataboutism. It’s one thing if someone is actually saying the bs you prefaced with, but nobody said that shit. Nobody needs you to run around on every post and say B-B-BUT AMERICA TOOOO!!! when nobody said shit about it
Because Americans like you are too stupid to realize a propagandist article.
Do you realize we are allowed to discuss and criticize things around the world whether or not America is guilty of something similar right?
It becomes tiresome to read “Foreign Country is doing the EVIL THING! Rally around the burn pit and lets talk about how intrinsically bad their are!” when they learned this shit by watching every other western country do it first. Just feels like another edition of American Exceptionalism and hysterical far-right xenophobia.
Anyone voluntarilly visiting China even with all these is beyond me.
Becoming like North Korea day by day
So same with the people voluntarily visiting the USA right? Because the same laws already exist there.
At some point, its just tiring to see folks slam their fists in their palms and declare whole-heartedly “I will NEVER visit China for ANY REASON!” when half our country is broke as shit and our planes occasionally just have the doors fall off mid-flight.
As if you were booking a vacation to Macau ten minutes ago, but now you’ve suddenly changed your mind. Come the fuck on, dude.
I’m convinced Americans have the same level of propagandist ignorance as North Koreans. And they also have no idea. Only a few can see the reality. And they try to escape.
I’m convinced Americans have the same level of propagandist ignorance as North Koreans.
Given the budgets they have to work with, I imagine Americans have it much worse off. An hour on Facebook deluges you with more advertisement than any given NKer probably sees in a weak.
Authoritarian China acting like authoritarian China. What a surprise
“Raising fears”
Honestly, let’s just abandon journalism to AI since there’s obviously no point to having humans doing it.
I don’t think the AI would be able to effectively create new fears to report on.
They wouldn’t be as believable without that human element.
Edit: wouldn’t not would.
Another reason to not go to China
At some point I’m going to have to because the woman I love is from there. Probably I will need to get a burner phone for the occasion. It does seem like a beautiful country full of interesting culture. Shame about the government though.
Stick close to her and trusted family and friends. Though cash must be accepted legally , its hardly used. Getting a simcard requires registering with your passport now. If you’re okay with that, a cheap burner phone with wechat for payments and comms and standard phone number yo get hold of your family back home. Needless to say you wont be anonymous so my attitude when visiting there was kind of just accept that, and don’t do/say anything stupid. i.e assimilate temporarily with that way of life. All of these concerns are only a small part of life and of course a billion or so people are living with it. You are totally right that the place is full of interesting and amazing history, culture, food and really friendly and hospitable people despite the bs they have to put up with.
Yeah I would definitely just accept that I don’t get to have privacy from government surveillance. That’s why I’d not want to bring any of my personal electronics with me. It may be particularly challenging since I know two of the places my GF really wants to travel to are Tibet and Xinjiang (apparently both are popular tourist destinations), in both of which I understand Western tourists are under a lot of extra scrutiny because they don’t want more documentary crews and journalists getting in and sneaking some footage of the treatment of minorities. I have to be ready to just swallow my pride and appreciate it for what it is.
I haven’t travelled to either province mainly on principle - I don’t think I could stomach it - so I cant speak on that. Though, many other locations if not the whole country, have similar history, and treatment of local minorities, culture and language.
Make sure you’re out before Canada gets into another dispute with China and they resort to hostage diplomacy again.
Yeah, good point. Luckily my name isn’t Michael which improves my odds somewhat
You don’t actually have to. Trust me I’ve been through this.
I guess, but I would like to. Especially because her culture is really important to her
The countryside is beautiful and the rich parts are nice but most of the country is a slum and the vast majority of the people there live in poverty. Check out China Insider on YouTube.
Yeah, luckily my gf’s family is relatively wealthy by Chinese standards. I believe her mother is an engineer for a weapons manufacturer, and my gf herself used to teach civil engineering at a university
It really is a beautiful country with a bunch of really beautiful landscapes, but unfortunately due to their government I wouldn’t dare go to it.
Kinda like Florida, beautiful state with a bunch of beautiful beaches and fantastic weather but due to political reasons I wouldn’t dare visit.
Edit: Spleling
Kinda the same reason it has always been.
Seems fair to me, tbh. I wouldn’t go there without diplomatic immunity or a burner anyways.
Anybody surprised by this hasn’t passed basic world history yet…
Where do you think Americans learn about non-European countries in World History? History started with the founding of England and ended with WW2. I think we dropped a nuclear bomb on some East Asian country where all the anime comes from. But other than that, who gives a shit about Asia?
I can’t breathe from all the smokescreen.
Fake news skip the part where every state does this lol
You want every state to be able to be able to confiscate your devices?
Every country already does this, is the point… Nothing to do with what I or you want
This is the law.
I think I’m the comission of a crime possibly, sure. I’m unaware of other countries just willy-nilly snatching devices “just because”. I haven’t looked at the data recently though, you have that?
They can do it at the border or within 100 miles of it
Also, depending on how you handle your opsec with the phone, they can do it during a detention too if they trick you into opening it via pass code or force you to open with your ugly face or finger.
They can do it at the border or within 100 miles of it
Pretty sure that’s just a US thing (including declaring that international airports are “borders”). Other countries will have other laws.
Still best to bring a burner instead of your real device if you’re passing through international customs, though, even if both countries involved claim to be respectable Western democracies. Just in case.
My understanding is that if you going through customs they can do it in any jurisdiction… but you are right US is extra degenerate in its application of this law because it covers 80% of population lol since we all live 100 miles from border or airport
clever
A century ago the eunuchs run China. The secretary censors run China now, not the technocrats from the previous generation. Secrets and intrigue instead of information and openess.
GrapheneOS and duress PIN.
So you are okay with not getting your phone back from authorities…
It’s a given if you go to any kind of dictatorship like this one.
In some cases that’s better than getting your data stolen by the authorities. Especially in a communist dictatorship like China.
That’s better in all cases. But the original comment sounded like “look how I can go to this authoritarian county, encounter police who would ask me for my phone, and remain free and safe afterwards”. That would not be a good idea.
That’s exactly what I was thinking while I read this
counterespionage law already pushed a lot business and investment away from China.
Not to mention a lot of stabbing targeting foreigners by nationalist https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-25/japanese-mother-child-attacked-with-knife-in-city-near-shanghai
I don’t understand who be interested going to China anymore
There’s not going to be anything ‘arbitrary’ about those inspections… In a bad way.
So like the TSA?
I don’t understand people who downvote you. TSA does indeed the same
Their Authoritarian Surveillance State
Our Robust National Security System
But the US is not an authoritarian shithole (it’s not a perfect democracy either, but it can’t be compared to the Chinese dictatorship in any way), which develops its domestic industries on industrial espionage and stolen intellectual property. Unlike… China. The TSA doesn’t get orders from the US government to steal trade secrets and other critical information from business people, in order to boost US industries.
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I mean SCOTUS just made a ruling getting ready to make trump king of the US…
I wouldn’t put the US on such a pedestal
Guess who nominated these SCOTUS judges at the end of his presidency?
Um… its called checks and balances, sweetie.
The King selects the priests and the High Priest coronates the wealthiest member of the royal court to be the next king. We live in the fairest, freest, and most godly country in the world, because we adhere to the ancient edicts of our Holy Forefathers. And if you don’t like that, you’ve probably been brainwashed by the unholy barbaric savages from across the ocean.
But the US is not an authoritarian shithole
ha good one. snowden would love a word with you on that one.
You can’t compare that to China by any means. I know that American democracy is incredibly flawed (e.g. 2-party system, electoral college, etc.), but China is a straight-up dictatorship, and downplaying it doesn’t fix any of the issues that exist in the US.
is this the whataboutism i hear about? can a country with gerrymandering and the electoral college (where most of the population hates its leaders regardless of party affiliation) be considered anything other than a dictatorship?
where people get kicked out of hospitals for not being able to afford it, teenagers are allowed (and sometimes coerced by circumstances) to work gruesome jobs and the schools teach religious slop as part of the law?
the OP article talks about something the US has been doing to the entire planet since the early 2000s with the patriot act, my dude…
Ok so the initial post was about China, then some commenter compared it to the US, but now talking about China is somehow “whataboutism”. Lemmy.ml people really have their own kind of logic.
ok, china bad then.
Probably wise for Beijing to do that
