- 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.
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 really think it’s necessary to immediately regurgitate a ‘AMERICA DOES IT TOO!!!’ comment on any article with negative sentiment regarding a non-American power?
Do you realize we are allowed to discuss and criticize things around the world whether or not America is guilty of something similar right?
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 us do every other western country do it first. Just feels like another edition of American Exceptionalism and hysterical far-right xenophobia.
Seems fair to me, tbh. I wouldn’t go there without diplomatic immunity or a burner anyways.
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.
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
Another reason to not go to China
Kinda the same reason it has always been.
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.
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 do to political reasons I wouldn’t dare visit.
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
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.
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?
Anyone voluntarilly visiting China even with all these is beyond me.
Even as far back as 2010 the corpo I worked for had an official travel protocol that dictated backing up Blackberries, factory resetting them, crossing the border, then restoring them from the cloud. That was for crossing any border.
Like even crossing from France to Monaco or Germany or from the usa to Canada?
I’m not saying that that’s an unreasonable policy for companies to have, but I will bet that only a very small portion of individuals normally do that for personal smartphones.
There’s not going to be anything ‘arbitrary’ about those inspections… In a bad way.
The CCP is growing more paranoid.
So like the TSA?
Reason 91627 why you shouldn’t go to this authoritarian shithole
Posting how much I hate authoritarian surveillance states on all my favorite NSA-infested social media accounts.
For the CCP arbitrary enforcement is less a risk and more a guarantee.
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”.
Probably wise for Beijing to do that
