TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China is set to usher in legal changes that target foreign interference, and legally define foreign relations as being under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Coming into effect on Saturday (June 1), China says amendments to its Counter-Espionage Law and the new Law on Foreign Relations will protect its national security.
"For acts that undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and harm the lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, it's both justifiable and necessary to make the law firmly counter such acts," one official told Chinese state-run media China Daily.
However, critics say the law is designed to bring foreign policy directly under the control of Xi Jinping (習近平). “It’s a personalization of Chinese foreign policy through a legal process,” University of Denver International Studies Professor Suisheng Zhao told Bloomberg.
Writing for China Law Translate, legal expert and China scholar at Yale Law School Jeremy Duam said the amendments to the espionage law reflect the emergence of national security concerns as a top issue in China. However, he said that the amendments are “probably less consequential than some imagine,” as they consolidate existing legal authorities available to Chinese security agencies.
“Chinese authorities have long had an essentially free hand in addressing national security concerns,” Duam said. “Broad discretion might be viewed as necessary to address threats to national security, but the resulting uncertainty about the scope of enforcement is contrary to the rule of law.”
RSF's East Asia Bureau Director Cedric Alviani. (CNA photo)
Duam said the law also includes a clause that says relevant provisions of the law apply to state security agencies acting to prevent and punish activities other than acts of espionage. According to the implementation provisions of the law, this includes foreigners who break the espionage law, “do not heed discouragement,” and meet with mainlanders who endanger national security.
After the amendments were announced in April, Reporters Without Borders issued a statement that said it was appalled by the expansion of the law. “Over the past decade, the Chinese regime has increasingly been using trumped-up accusations of espionage as a weapon against independent voices including journalists, and the widening of the counter-espionage law gives it even more striking power,” Cedric Alviani, RSF’s East Asia Bureau Director said.
Followed only by North Korea, China is placed second to last in RSF’s press freedom rankings, and has been labelled by the organization as “the world’s largest captor of journalists.” RSF says at least 113 journalists are detained there.
When asked about the effect the law may have on reporters, China foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said there is no need to associate the law with foreign journalists. “As long as one abides by laws and regulations, there is no need to worry,” she said.
China Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning speaks to reporters on June 28. (China Ministry of Foreign Affairs image)
